- Senior army official says forces will eliminate militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur if he’s spotted in NWA
- Denies civilian casualties during military offensive, says forces facing opposition in some areas
The Pakistani military on Wednesday claimed that security forces had cleared 80 per cent of Miranshah during Operation Zarb-e-Azb, as jet fighters carried out airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan killing 11 suspected terrorists and destroying three dens.
Meanwhile, senior army commander, Major General Zafarullah Khan said that outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur would be eliminated without any delay if security forces spotted him anywhere in North Waziristan. Bahadur is known to have links with notorious terrorist outfits in North Waziristan, including the Haqqani network.
The general further said that evidence of al Qaeda’s presence in the region was found and the army was still facing opposition in some areas. He maintained that the civilian population was not targeted during the operation but this information could not be independently verified.
MEDIA ALLOWED TO VISIT MIRANSHAH:
Also, for the first time since the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Miranshah was opened for national and international media as media personnel, particularly from television networks, were allowed to take shots of several destroyed militant hideouts.
The army launched its long-awaited major Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the tribal region a week after an attack on the airport in Karachi, deploying troops, tanks and jets to the area in the crackdown on the Pakistani Taliban and other terrorists.
So far more than 400 suspected militants, mostly foreigners, have been killed during the operation while at least 19 (improvised explosive device) IED-making factories have also been unearthed by security forces in parts of Miranshah.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 62,251 families left North Waziristan in the wake of the military offensive.