The armed forces are all set to launch a ground operation in North Waziristan Agency today, after the completion of the first phase of the military operation in the troubled agency which has long been the hub of militant insurgency.
An army official told Pakistan Today that till date, 456,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have been registered. He said that according to reports, civilians have completely evacuated NWA.
According to reports, around 300 terrorists have been killed in the operation till date while for the first time, a batch of 12 terrorists surrendered in the agency on Wednesday.
The source said that the ground offensive would be launched anytime today and the troops would be provided air cover.
The source said that the ground offensive was being launched as the first phase of the operation has successfully targeted the basic infrastructure of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“The training facilities, hideouts and other infrastructure used by the TTP terrorists were destroyed during the aerial bombing. Now the ground troops would go in to sweep the entire area in a bid to clean the NWA of terrorists,” the source said.
The official said that many tribal elders from around Miranshah, Mir Ali and Data Khel have assured the army of their support.
