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India-Pakistan | |
18 killed in Orakzai shelling | |
2009-05-25 | |
HANGU: Fighter jets and helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts in Orakzai Agency on Sunday, with the AP news agency reporting at least 18 people killed in the offensive. AP quoted a government official as saying that the targets were strongholds of Hakeemullah Mehsud, a deputy to Baitullah Mehsud. Hundreds fled the area amid the fighting. According to the Reuters news agency, security officials said the government forces were targeting a group of Taliban in Orakzai who were preparing to travel to South Waziristan on the Afghan border to fight the army there. The news agency also quoted a Taliban spokesman, Maulvi Haider, as saying that 13 of his men had been killed and vowed revenge. "We'll hit back and our target could be anywhere in Pakistan," he said.
The sources told Daily Times that at least eight Taliban hideouts were destroyed. The political authorities confirmed the offensive. | |
Posted by:Steve White |