HANGU/KHAR: Nine militants were killed when army gunship helicopters targeted their hideouts in Thall tehsil of Hangu district on Saturday, official sources claimed.
Two helicopter gunships flew from the Pakistan Air Force base in Kohat and pounded the suspected hideouts of militants in the Tora Waray area of Thall.
The shelling started at 7am and continued till 9am during which the house of one Gul Nawaz, stated to be a commander of the TTP Orakzai Agency, was attacked.
There were reports that Gul Nawaz, Arshad, Wali Zaman and six others, whose names could not be verified, were killed in the airstrikes. Some reports suggested that the slain militants included three commanders. However, there was no independent confirmation of this claim.
Also, two women were injured when a shell hit a house in Darsamand village during the air raid. The injured women, identified as Bibi Sakina and Sultana Bibi, had to be hospitalised.
Tora Waray is located near the border with the Orakzai tribal region where the TTP has its presence in the Upper Orakzai Agency.
In Khar, a militant group calling itself the Taliban al-Qaeda Group in Bajaur Agency on Friday announced a ceasefire.
Talking to reporters over the phone from an undisclosed location, the militant group head Yousaf Raza Mujahid said all the Taliban factions in Bajaur Agency had been communicated to observe a ceasefire till February 28.
He said the Taliban were capable of fighting against the ‘anti-Islamic forces’ all over the world. However, he added that they wanted to observe a ceasefire for the time being.
“We hereby announce a ceasefire and inform the large and small groups to follow the announcement till February 28,” he added.
The caller, Yousaf Raza Mujahid, had phoned some reporters in Bajaur Agency on at least one occasion in the past. However, he now introduced himself as the head of the Taliban al-Qaeda group. It is unclear, though, as to how much support he enjoys among the Bajaur militants.
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