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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan troops kill 12 militants: officials |
| 2010-05-26 |
| [Dawn] At least 12 militants were killed in a clash with Pakistani troops in a restive tribal district Tuesday, officials said. The fighting broke out during a search operation in Orakzai, one of seven lawless districts in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, where troops have been battling the Taliban since March, security officials said. A paramilitary spokesman told AFP that about 50 militants attacked troops during search and clearance operation in the district's Dabori area. "At least 12 militants were killed and eight terrorist hideouts were also destroyed. There was no loss of security forces," the spokesman said. He said helicopter gunships were also called in during the firefight. Pakistani forces launched the Orakzai offensive on March 24 in a bid to flush out Taliban who escaped last year's major assault on South Waziristan, where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership had its headquarters. The TTP, blamed for a bombing campaign that has killed 3,300 people across Pakistan over the past three years, grabbed the global spotlight after the United States blamed it for the failed May 1 car bomb plot in New York. Washington says Pakistan's tribal belt, which lies beyond Islamabad's direct control, is a stronghold for Al-Qaeda and militants plotting attacks on US-led troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Fred |