Taliban militants claimed to have kidnapped 28 paramilitary soldiers, as one army jawan died and many others were injured when a military convoy was ambushed in North Waziristan on Saturday, officials said.Local Taliban spokesman Ahmedullah Ahmed said that 28 paramilitary soldiers were kidnapped in the last 36 hours from the Speenwam area near Mir Ali town. “We have kidnapped 28 Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers from different checkposts in Speenwam near Mir Ali during the last 36 hours,” he told Daily Times by phone from an undisclosed location. He did not say whether the kidnapped soldiers had put up any resistance before being kidnapped, as previous reports have alleged that soldiers have surrendered without resistance.
No kidnappings: Military spokesman Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad termed the Taliban spokesman’s claim as “wrong” and said no FC jawan had been captured. He, however, confirmed the militants’ ambush on the army convoy.
One dead, 18 injured: Meanwhile, the ambush on the military convoy was staged 10 kilometres west of Miranshah with the attack “bearing the hallmark of Al Qaeda” — killing one soldier and injuring 18 others, a tribal elder said. “They first detonated IEDs, then fired on soldiers and badly damaged five vehicles, including trucks and pick-ups,” the tribal elder in Babari Adda, where the ambush took place, told Daily Times. He said the security forces returned fire and killed one civilian who was looking out of his window to see what was happening. According to security officials, the military convoy was returning to Miranshah from the Data Khel region.