AFP
A soldier and three militants have been killed in fighting in restive northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, the military said yesterday.
The four were killed in an exchange of fire in the Boya area of North Waziristan tribal district, the military said in a statement to the media.
“Three terrorist were killed, a junior officer of Pakistan army also embraced shahadat (martyrdom) in exchange of fire with terrorists,” the
statement said.
The Pakistani Taliban, meanwhile, confirmed the military had killed one of its commanders, but did not specify when.
“Commander Mohammad Hassan embraced martyrdom while fighting against the Pakistani soldiers,” Shahid Ullah Shahid, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said.
“Hassan was also fighting against Nato troops in Afghanistan and was recently released from Kabul prisons where he spent a couple of months,” Shahid said.
He added that Pakistani Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah led funeral prayers for the slain commander.
In June, the army began major offensives in North Waziristan aimed at clearing the area of insurgent groups, including the Taliban, after a bloody raid on Karachi Airport ended faltering peace talks.
Residents have said many civilians have died in air strikes, but as the conflict zone is off-limits to journalists, there is no way to independently verify the number and identity of those killed.
North Waziristan has become a major base for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban), which rose up against the state in 2007.
The United States has long called for action in the area because the militant groups have targeted Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s army says it has killed more than a thousand militants and lost 86 soldiers since the start of the
operation.
Plane crash injures two: A Pakistan army aircraft crashed in the southwestern city of Quetta yesterday injuring two pilots, the
military said.
“Two pilots were wounded after their MFI-17 Mushshak aircraft-fixed gear trainer aircraft, crashed near the hills of Ziarat, about 40km (25 miles) east of Quetta on Saturday morning,” a military official said.
The incident was confirmed by another military official who said the crash was a result of technical fault.
“The wounded pilots were transported to Quetta for treatment. They are in stable condition,” he said.
The Pakistan army uses Mushshak aircraft to train pilots in its aviation wing.
The aircraft, which is manufactured locally, is a big source of export earnings for Pakistan and sold to several Middle Eastern countries.
The exact cost of the aircraft and number sold have not been made public.
