Twenty-three people, including 15 Taliban and eight civilians, were killed as security forces targeted Taliban hideouts in Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday. The security forces used fighter jets and helicopter gunships in the attacks in which several people were injured as well, AFP reported. The security forces also pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in various areas of Safi, killing a civilian at Malatam. A petrol pump, a school and several houses were also destroyed in the attacks.
Meanwhile, a security forces official was killed and three others injured when the Taliban attacked their convoy in Kanjoo area of Swat on Wednesday. The troops launched a search operation following the attack and arrested 23 suspects, locals told Daily Times. The troops also pounded Taliban hideouts in Kabal and Charbagh tehsils of Swat. No casualties were reported.
In a separate incident, the Taliban kidnapped an engineer of the Atomic Energy Commission from Sin Pora area of Matta tehsil.
Waziristan: A local Taliban commander was among three injured in a roadside bomb blast in Chagmali area of South Waziristan Agency. Sources said the injured included Baitullah Mehsud's commander Maulana Azmatullah. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital where their condition was stated to be critical.
Separately, Taliban set off two remote-controlled bombs in Jamrud's Shagai area in a bid to blow up a convoy carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan, witnesses told Daily Times. The blasts however caused no casualty or damage to the trucks, they said and added that soon after the explosions, security forces accompanying the convoy resorted to firing to scare Taliban away.