Five suspected Taliban fighters were killed in artillery fire and shelling by gunship helicopters in various areas of Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, while five Taliban and four civilians were killed in the military operation in Swat. In Bajaur, officials and locals said the aerial strikes targetted Taliban positions in Mamoond and Charmang areas. APP reported that Taliban fighters had also been killed in Nawagai tehsil. The political administration has tightened security in the agency by setting up checkposts in various areas and increasing the number of security personnel, continuing the search for Afghan refugees and arresting seven suspects.
In Swat, ISPR said five Taliban fighters were killed by security forces in Kabal tehsil. A spokesman for the military's media information centre in Swat told APP that gunship helicopters were called in after the Taliban attacked troops in Kabal. Civilian deaths: Also, four people -- two women in Khwazakhela and two men in Kabal -- were killed and seven injured as mortar shells hit civilian houses, according to locals. ISPR officials refused comment on the civilian deaths. NNI however reported that 10 civilians had been injured in the operation in Swat.
School blown up: Meanwhile, the Taliban blew up a boys' primary school in Bara Bandai area of Kabal tehsil. NNI however reported that a girls' school had been blown up. According to official figures, 123 schools have so far been destroyed by the Taliban in Swat.