Four soldiers have been killed and three others injured in an attack on a Pakistan army camp in the remote tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. The attack late on Thursday occurred near the town of Wana in South Waziristan province, where Pakistani security forces had launched an operation against "foreign terrorists".
| I think I'd call it a counterattack... |
A local official said four soldiers were killed and at least three were wounded when unidentified attackers fired rockets at their camp. Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said only one or two soldiers were killed, while two were wounded. "The attackers fired a couple of rockets at the camp near Wana," he said. "Unfortunately there were one or two casualties." Witnesses in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, said they had heard firing for about 45 minutes.
| So it wasn't just the usual light-the-fuse-and-run operation like we see in Afghanistan... |
The military's operation ended on Friday without any terror suspects being found. "The army search which was backed by helicopters has concluded and no foreign suspects have been found," Sultan said.
| "Yeah. We knocked, but there was nobody home." |
Local officials said helicopter gunships had fired at five houses during the operation when troops came under fire. Three houses were damaged in the aerial action but there were no casualties. During the offensive launched on Thursday, the troops searched Kalu Shah village near Wana, around 40km from the Afghan border. Sultan said the search operation was launched after a few locals were taken in for questioning in connection with intelligence reports about the presence of foreign terrorists in the area. Last year, the Pakistani military carried out two major operations in South Waziristan, which borders Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. |