KHYBER AGENCY (AHMAD NABI/Agencies) - At least twenty eight militants were killed and six soldiers martyred in fierce clashes took place in Khyber Agency and FR Kohat on Saturday.
The confrontation started on Friday and continued until Saturday morning in Khyber, one of the seven tribal districts along the Afghan border. It was not clear how the clashes began, but Pakistan troops have been targeting Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam militia in a recent military push in the important Khyber tribal district.
According to security forces sources, ten extremists were killed when security personnel battled with the terrorists in Akka Khel area of Bara Tehsil and also destroyed their two hideouts. Two security men were also martyred during the clashes.
On the other hand, 18 militants have so far been killed in the on-going clashes in Kharmatang area of FR Kohat where Pakistan Air Force fighter jets pounded militant compounds and razed two hideouts to the ground.
During the battle, four security men were also martyred in FR Kohat.
It is worth mentioning here that the security forces have kicked off the on-going operation on July 19 under the name of “Operation Khyber 2” to wipe out all anti-social elements from the area. The key area straddles the Nato supply line into Afghanistan, used by US-led troops to evacuate military equipment ahead of their 2014 withdrawal.
Pakistani troops have been fighting for years against home-grown insurgents in the tribal belt, which Washington considers the main hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, according to reports, Nato jet fighter violated the Pakistan airspace at Tourkham border area. Nato aircraft continued flight for at least ten minutes creating panic among people of the area. It should be mentioned that it was the third time Nato aircraft have violated the Pakistan territory during last three days.
On the other hand, Pakistan Air Force refuted the media reports regarding violation of Pakistani airspace by Nato jets. According to media reports, Pakistan Air force spokesperson said that aircrafts which flew into Pakistani airspace were not fighter planes but were passenger planes and they were allowed to enter air space due to bad weather. He further said that Nato aircrafts did not violate Pakistani airspace.