39 Pakistanis Killed by their Army in Orakzai, June 23, 2010

39 Pakistanis Killed by their Army in Orakzai

June 23, 2010

Editor's Note:

The following stories represent one side of the conflict, i.e. the NATO-backed Pakistani government. The claims of killing all these Pakistani Taliban fighters could not be independently verified or even questioned by pro-government media. There is no mentioning of civilian casualties at all, which is a call of suspicion of the pro-government accounts.

39 Taliban, soldier killed in Orakzai Agency

Thursday, June 24, 2010

HANGU:

At least 39 Taliban fighters were killed by security forces in fighting in Orakzai Agency on Wednesday.

Official sources said one soldier was killed, while 15 others were injured in the fighting.

Fifteen Taliban fighters were killed during a clash in the Dabori Ali Khel area in upper Orakzai. Five security personnel were also injured in the fighting.

In a separate incident, 24 Taliban were killed in the Hatango area. An official said the militants attacked a security checkpost at around 11am with small arms and rockets, prompting retaliation from the security forces that killed 24 insurgents.

Security forces also destroyed two Taliban hideouts. The clashes happened in the Taliban fighters' stronghold that was captured by the security forces last month.

Violence has continued in Orakzai despite the army’s announcement earlier this month that it had defeated Taliban militants in the area. Over 600 Taliban fighters and about two dozen security personnel have been killed in fighting so far.

Pakistani forces kill 24 Pakistani Taliban fighters in northwest

June 22, 2010, 12:18 pm

Pakistani security forces killed 24 (Pakistani Taliban fighters) on Wednesday in clashes that erupted after insurgents attacked a security check post in the northwestern Orakzai region, officials said.

(Pakistani Taliban fighters) continued in Orakzai despite a military announcement early this month it had defeated (Pakistani Taliban fighters) there, highlighting the challenges Pakistan's army faces in battling insurgents.

"Militants attacked the checkpost at around 11 a.m. (0600 GMT) with small arms and rockets, prompting retaliation from the security forces that killed 24 insurgents," government official Azhar Khan told Reuters.

There was no way to independently verify the militant death toll, which is often disputed and rejected by the insurgents.

Wednesday's clashes, which also killed a paramilitary soldier and wounded nine, happened in the militant stronghold of Djabori that was captured by the security forces last month.

Over 600 (Pakistani Taliban fighters) and about two dozen security personnel have been killed in fighting over the past month in Orakzai, one of the major bases of the Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting both the Pakistani state and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistani troops launched two major offensives in the Swat valley and in the (Pakistani Taliban fighters') bastion of South Waziristan on the Afghan border last year.

(Reporting by Hasan Mahmood; Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Bryson Hull and Ron Popeski)

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