WANA: Militants were still targeting military positions in Wana as an Uzbek and a tribal militant were killed in an exchange of fire with the army in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains on Friday. A military source said an Uzbek was killed while a senior government official said a Zalikhel sub-tribe member was also killed in the fighting. Tribesman Abdul Manan's body was handed over to his family.
| Anybody think it's odd that it looks like the Bad Guys are on the offensive? |
Military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times on the phone from Rawalpindi that the military operation, launched in June this year, would continue and the army would return fire whenever attacked. He denied that the army had suffered any casualties. Sources, however, said both sides suffered 'losses' in the fighting in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains. Sources said gunship helicopters hovered over as the army targeted militants' hideouts in the area. They said heavy fighting was in progress as the army was using artillery from Tiarzah Fort and the Zarinoor base near Wana to pound enemy targets. Sources said that the army was closing in on the militants. Gen Sultan said peace had been restored in the Shakai valley and the army was meeting with pockets of resistance in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains. "Dense forests help militants to hit and run," he added. |