MIRANSHAH: Five civilians sustained injuries from artillery fire on Tuesday after security forces came under attack from militants in North Waziristan as gunship helicopters pounded suspected targets for hours, eyewitnesses and officials said. A soldier was also injured when militants fired a rocket at a security post. Two civilians at a tableeghi centre near Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, and three others in a nearby village were injured when security forces fired artillery shots in the direction from which militants fired rockets at the army, security officials told Daily Times.
| Right. We're sure the rockets weren't fired from the tagblighi center. |
“At 5am, the army base was attacked from the west. Two rockets missed their intended targets and security forces retaliated using artillery to pound the areas from which the rockets were fired,” they said. The security officials expressed regret at civilians being injured in the crossfire.
Two rockets were fired on Banda Post close to Miranshah, leaving one soldier injured. Gunship helicopters took off moments after the attack and pounded suspected militant hideouts. Near Kharr Kamar, 35 kilometres west of Miranshah, a military convoy headed to Dattakhel escaped losses when an improvised explosive device exploded nearby. In the Shawal area, army returned fire when four rockets were fired at Mana Camp. However, officials said no damage or loss of life resulted. North Waziristan returned to bloody clashes after pro-Taliban militants pulled out of the 2006 peace agreement with the government on July 15. According to official figures, 60 soldiers and 250 militants have died in the area in the last one month. |