[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Security forces on Monday claimed to have killed around 100 Taliban militants in a massive military operation in a cluster of villages in the troubled Maidan area of Dir Lower district.The colossal human loss to the militants was claimed the day the NWFP cabinet approved to fix a bounty of Rs 500,000 each on the heads of five top Taliban commanders operating in the Maidan area of Dir Lower.
The military sources said security forces launched action in five villages of Maidan to dislodge the militants from their hideouts as they were launching rocket attacks from there on the Scouts Fort in Timergara.
"We have inflicted huge human loss on them. According to the information we have received, the casualties of the militants must not be less than 100,î a military official stationed in the area said.
He said a large number of foot soldiers backed by tanks, artillery and mortars stormed the positions of the militants in Sherkhanay, Shedas, Misrikhanay, Sangolai and Saparay on Sunday. The official said security forces continued their operation for around 18 hours to eliminate the hideouts of the militants. "They had built bunkers and other hideouts in the area from where they used to launch rocket attacks on the (Scouts) Fort in Timergara,î he said. The militants in recent weeks fired rockets at the fort.
"Security forces wrested these areas, including the strategic Saparay Top and Point 1260 (a mountaintop),î the official said, adding the militants had been on the run in the area.
He said during the action, some 100 militants had been killed. Some 250-300 Taliban militants were hiding in these five or six villages, according to the official. Responding to a query about the bodies of the militants, he said security forces never went for the militants" bodies. "Also, the militants do not leave behind the bodies or injured,î he said.
Some local sources and television channels reported the killing of 50 militants. However, the official insisted "the fatalities were not less than 100.î With their nerve-centre in Maidan, the Taliban militants in Dir Lower were led by Commander Hafizullah. The Army has claimed to have killed over 400 militants but their Commander Hafizullah is still alive. The militancy in Maidan area has not stopped fully.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain also said on Monday that the Taliban in Maidan were still active. He told media person after the cabinet meeting that the NWFP government has decided to fix a bounty of Rs 500,000 each on the heads of five top Taliban leaders of Maidan. They included Commander Hafizullah, Qari Shahid, Dr Wazir, Muftahuddin and Abdus Salam.