At least 19 militants were killed on Wednesday during air strikes in Sandapal and Akakhel areas of Khyber Agency. According to the ISPR, an important militant commander was also killed.
Furthermore, the air strikes destroyed at least five militant hideouts and an ammunition depot in the area. This information, however, could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to the war-torn agency. Today’s strikes were part of the military operation carried out by the army in the tribal areas of Khyber Agency and North Waziristan, targeting local and foreign insurgents in the area.
Apart from Zarb-i-Azb, a full-fledged operation in North Waziristan, Khyber-1 was also launched last month to target Lashkar-i-Islam, a Taliban faction that has strongholds in Khyber Agency. At least two soldiers and four militants were killed in an exchange of fire in North Waziristan near the Afghan border, the military said on Monday. North Waziristan has become a major base for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban), which rose up against the state in 2007. -dawn
