Five soldiers were injured and about 16 personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) went missing in two separate incidents in Waziristan.
Peshawar, Aug 10 : Five soldiers were injured and about 16 personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) went missing in two separate incidents in Waziristan.
Sources said there were reports that Uzbek militants, who were evicted from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, had shifted to the Mahsud-dominated area and might be behind the kidnapping of the FC men.
DG ISPR Major General Waheed Arshad confirmed that the FC men were missing.
He said efforts were going on for their quick and safe recovery, and added that nobody has made any claim for their kidnapping.
Meanwhile, army helicopter gunships attacked two trucks and as many cars carrying militants fleeing the bombing of a military convoy in North Waziristan, killing, at least 10 fighters, an official said.
The attack took place at Boya near a security check post located about 20 kilometres west of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan.
Eyewitnesses said that the convoy having about 30 vehicles was on its way to Dattakhel from Miranshah when it was attacked with two IEDs triggered by remote-control at around 4.30 p.m.
The troops cordoned off the area after the attack and started search for the attackers.
The operation was carried out after a bomb explosion near the convoy left five soldiers wounded, said army spokesman Major General Arshad.
Between 10 and 12 militants were killed in the strafing, Arshad said, adding that the toll could rise.
The News quoted Arshad as saying that the army helicopters chased the militants, who were carrying rocket launchers and small arms as they fled after carrying out the bombing into a petrol station, then in their vehicles.
ANI