Fierce gunbattles in Swat, Malakand

MINGORA/BATKHELA: Forty-seven militants, 15 security personnel and 36 non-combatants were killed and several others wounded on Wednesday in fierce clashes and explosions in the Swat valley and Malakand region.

Sources said security forces killed 30 militants near emerald mines and 15 others in Takhtaband area, in the outskirts of Mingora. The ground forces entered from Fizaghat side and recaptured the mines after helicopter gunships and artillery shelled the area.

Thirty-five civilians were reportedly killed either in crossfire between troops and militants and artillery fire or for violating curfew in different areas of Swat when a fresh military offensive was launched. Military sources admitted civilian deaths but did not confirm the number of casualties.

Three security personnel were killed and four others were injured in a roadside blast near Barikot. Three personnel were killed and three injured when militants attacked an FC camp in Kanju.

Sources said the militants still had control over Mingora town. They were patrolling streets and took positions on rooftops. They also occupied local people’s homes and laid mines in Mingora.

A number of bank branches were looted in Mingora and then set on fire. Thousands of people fled the valley while thousands were trapped in their homes because of an indefinite curfew and presence of the Taliban.

Helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militants’ positions in emerald mines, Mingora Bazaar, Takhtaband and Engaro Dheri, in the outskirts of Mingora. The hideouts in Koza Banda and Bar Banda were also targeted in Kabal tehsil.

The sources said fighting was also going on in Manglawar, Charbagh, Khwazakhela and Bahrain.

A curfew was imposed for an indefinite period from Skhakot to Landaki, in Malakand, at 6am on Wednesday when a military convoy bound for Swat passed through the area via GT Road.

Sources said nine soldiers, two militants and one civilian were killed in roadside explosions and exchange of fire in different areas of Malakand on Tuesday.

Six soldiers were killed and three others wounded when a remote-controlled bomb went off near Thana Bypass road, near Chakdara, when the military convoy was on its way to Swat district.

Then militants opened fire on the convoy, triggering an exchange of fire. Two militants were killed and a woman Mahar Pari, wife of Sher Afzal of Bugar Cham, was injured when a stray bullet hit her.

The deceased soldiers included Tawqir, Tahir, Rashid, Nisar, Aimal Qasim and conductor Bilal while the injured were identified as Shaukat, Yousaf, Nisar and Shakoor.

The bodies and the injured were shifted to Chakdara Fort housed by Chitral Scouts. Later the bodies were flown by helicopters and the injured soldiers were admitted to a hospital.

Another three soldiers were killed when three improvised explosive devices exploded one after another along the GT Road, near FG Public School in Batkhela at 8am when the military convoy was passing through the area. Security personnel fired back and the gunbattle lasted an hour.

The convoy was again attacked by three miscreants from the hills near Amandara, the headquarters of Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi, at 12 noon.

Later helicopter gunships shelled the surrounding areas, including Gharibabad and Bar Batkhela, killing one civilian and injuring another.