Troops from the Army and the Frontier Corps backed by helicopter gun ships bombed and killed 18 militants near the Banda checkpoint a few kilometres outside Miranshah town.
Peshawar, Aug 1 : Troops from the Army and the Frontier Corps backed by helicopter gun ships bombed and killed 18 militants near the Banda checkpoint a few kilometres outside Miranshah town.
The troops and the militants exchanged fire the whole night on Monday. The scene of the fighting was near the Khwaja Wali and old Miranshah villages, whose residents spent a sleepless night.
Major-General Waheed Arshad, Director-General, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 18 "miscreants" were killed when about 40 of them tried to attack a military checkpoint near Miranshah.
He said the troops repelled the attack and in retaliatory strikes destroyed the vehicles of the "miscreants" and killed 18 of them.
The troops didn't suffer any loss, The News quoted him, as saying.
Residents of Miranshah and nearby villages said that the slain men were local Taliban.
They said the militants first came in two vehicles and due to some misunderstanding the troops manning the Banda checkpoint started firing at them.
Later, two Cobra gunship helicopters and a third smaller helicopter arrived at the scene and began bombing and shelling the occupants of the two vehicles.
Soon it led to a severe exchange of fire and the use of heavy weapons by the troops to pound the positions of the militants who were trapped.
This was the highest casualty figure for the militants, who until now have been on the offensive in North Waziristan.
Meanwhile, suspected militants killed a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier and abducted four others after a shootout with the paramilitary personnel in the Frontier Region Bannu.
Bannu District Police Officer Dar Ali Khattak said the soldier was killed in the shootout that ensued the militants' attempt to abduct 10 FC personnel.
The political authorities have suspended payment of incentives and salaries of the residents of Darpakhel, Borakhel and Miramshah villages under the collective and territorial responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.n official said that the incentives were suspended after security forces had come under attacks in the areas.
The administration has also warned officials and Khasadar personnel to immediately report for duty or face termination, he added.
The sources said that many government employees and Khasadar personnel had stopped doing their job after militants warned them against working for the armed forces.
ANI