Operation Toar Tander-I (Black Thunderstorm-I) continued in the Maidan area of Lower Dir for the second day on Monday, as the Frontier Corps (FC) killed 26 more Taliban including key commanders. "Forty [Taliban], including commanders Maulana Shahid and Qari Quraish, have been killed in the last two days of operation," Frontier Corps said in a press statement.The operation was launched on Sunday after the Taliban attacked security forces and government officials and closed roads for the movement of government and FC convoys. The government lost patience when at least 11 schoolchildren were killed by toy bomb on Saturday. Officials said the forces were gaining ground against the Taliban and their hideouts in Kalkot, Islam Dara and Hoshyari Dara were targeted. "After a stiff encounter with the [Taliban], the Frontier Corps soldiers regained control of Lal Qila and flushed them out from Maidan valley," the FC statement said.
Paramilitary troops and helicopter gunships bombed suspected Taliban bases during the operation, a military official told AFP. "Eight security officials were also killed in two days of operation," another military official to the news agency, requesting anonymity.