900militants killed by army in North Waziristan operation

Several key roads have been cleared and two ammunition factories were destroyed

More than 900 militants have been killed so far in the ongoing 10- week old operation launched by Pakistani armed forces in June to wipe out sanctuaries of local and foreign militants in North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, the military said yesterday.

Since the start of the “Zarbe- Azb” military operation, 82 soldiers have died “in the entire country while fighting against terrorism, while 269 are injured,” a press release issued by the Inter- Services Public Relations ( ISPR) said.

The 82 soldiers who died include 42 in North Waziristan, 23 in the rest of the six federally administered tribal districts, and 17 in other parts of the country including southwestern Balochistan province and Karachi, the volatile capital of southern Sindh province.

“Operation Zarb- e- Azb is progressing as per plan and since start of the operation 910 terrorists have been killed,” the ISPR said, without indicating when the offensive was likely to be completed.

In North Waziristan, five major towns which were considered “terrorist” strongholds— Miranshah, Mirali, Datta Khel, Boya and Degan — have been cleared alongwith several key roads, according to the press release.

As many as 27 factories used by militants tomake improvised explosive devices ( IEDs) as well as two rocket and ammunition factories were destroyed.

Huge caches of arms and ammunition, communication equipment, and other logistics facilities were also destroyed, reducing the militants’ ability to attack as a coherent force, ISPR said.