 ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: At least 60 more Taliban and nine soldiers were killed during the Swat operation on Thursday, as troops thwarted an attack on the reclaimed Taliban stronghold of Peochar.
Chief army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed 54 Taliban deaths in a daily briefing, and said the military was taking "extra-ordinary measures to avoid collateral damage".
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The spokesman said the army destroyed at least 15 Taliban hideouts in Ramotai Loe area of Shangla.
Abbas said forces in Barikot removed roadside bombs and eliminated the remaining Taliban resistance to clear areas up to Udigram, just 6 kilometres short of Mingora. Thirteen Taliban were killed in the Tursak suburb of Mingora. Three Taliban including a key commander were killed in intense clashes in Udigram.
Frontier Corps (FC) sources said that 30 Taliban were killed in Kalpani. Another 20 were killed in Hayasarae area of Lower Dir when troops destroyed the house of a union nazim that the Taliban had occupied.
Intense fighting took place in Shalpalam and Sultanwas, the Taliban stronghold in Buner. The military spokesman contradicted media reports that Taliban control most parts of FATA. He also denied Pakistan was taking foreign military assistance.
| "We don't need no furriners! We can kill our own as easy as pie!" |
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