1,200 militants killed in Pakistan army operations in tribal region

The Pakistani army’s operations against militant hideouts in a northwestern tribal region near the border with Afghanistan have so far killed more than 1,200 militants, a senior Pakistani army officer says.

Major General Zafarullah Khan, the officer in charge of North Waziristan, said on Sunday that nearly 1,200 militants have been killed since the military campaign started in the region.

He further noted that 230 terrorists have been also arrested.

Khan added that considerable amounts of weapons, munitions and many vehicles have been also confiscated in the region.

The military official said pro-Taliban militants generally rely on bombs and ambushes to engage Pakistani government forces and to hamper their progress rather than battling them openly.

“They have planted [bombs] in houses, they have planted [bombs] in the streets, they’ve planted [bombs] even in the trees,” he said.

Pakistani military units have been conducting military operations to eliminate terrorists in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region since June, but the spillover of the militancy from neighboring Afghanistan has so far hampered the efforts.

Pro-Taliban militants have fled their strongholds in North Waziristan and taken refuge in Khyber region, prompting the Pakistani army to expand its campaign to Khyber in October.

Militant groups operating in Pakistan have carried out numerous attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.

MP/HJL/SS

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