Another two personnel of security forces were killed on Monday in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, as clashes between militants and forces continued in the agency for the second consecutive day.
Officials said the death toll in two days of violence had risen to 11, while 10 personnel of security forces had been left injured.
A strict curfew is in place across the area and dwellers of Miranshah remained confined to their homes, while roads also remained closed for traffic. On Sunday, gunmen armed with rockets attacked a military convoy, sparking gun battles.
The military had said on Sunday that nine soldiers had been killed in clashes spanning several hours and had claimed that “heavy casualties” were inflicted on the militants. The heads of another two soldiers were found dumped on Monday, without their bodies — one hanging from a barbed wire fence in the neighbourhood of Makane Bagh and the other in Zafar Town, local officials said.
Beside personnel of security forces, four civilians, including a child and two women, were killed and several others injured when mortar shells landed on houses during the clashes. During the clashes, mortar shells landed on shops in two arms markets near Razmak Bus Stand in Miranshah. Around 50 arms shops caught fire and almost all arms, cartridges and explosive were destroyed. A number of rockets were also fired by militants at security forces.
Meanwhile, in accordance with political administration’s instruction, relocation of tribesmen from Shalobar Qambar Khel tribe in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency is in progress. Officials said on the first day, around 350 families had abandoned homes and shifted to Peshawar and Jalozai. The political administration had directed tribesmen from Shalobar Qambar Khel to leave the area by Tuesday evening to make way for a military action against militants in the area.
