KOHAT: Twenty-six militants were killed when jets shelled headquarters of the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Orakzai Agency on Saturday afternoon.
The jets targeted camps and strongholds of commander Tariq Afridi of Darra Adamkhel and commander Nazar of Khyber Agency in Sam Ghar area, where a military helicopter crashed on Friday, killing 41 personnel and crew.
Military personnel started retrieving the bodies from the scene on Saturday.
Helicopter gunships shelled suspected hideouts of militants to protect the troops engaged in rescue activities.
However, the wreckage of the helicopter is still lying scattered all over the area as the political administration could not send its staff to negotiate with the Taliban to recover it.
Sources said the area where the incident took place was a ‘danger zone’ and under complete control of the Taliban.
‘They (Taliban) train suicide bombers in government buildings in the area. Militants are heavily armed and the administration did not allow the Levies or Khasadar personnel to go near the place for security reasons,’ they added.
However, top military officials and the political administration were working to recover the wreckage and launch an inquiry into the incident.
Local people told officials collecting evidence that the MI-17 helicopter had caught fire before crashing into the ground along the border between Orakzai Agency and Khyber Agency.
Meanwhile, Khasadars belonging to 11 of 12 tribes of upper Orakzai have ignored a warning given to them by Tehrik-i-Taliban to resign from jobs and continued to attend their duty at various places.
However, khasadars of Mamozai tribe have packed up their belongings and left offices and barracks in the region.
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