ISLAMABAD: At least three security personnel were killed on Tuesday during a militant attack on a security checkpost in South Waziristan’s Ladha area.
Security sources told media that, “Terrorists attacked a security check post in Ladha and opened fire, resulting in the demise of three security personnel: Jafar Hussain, Mohammad Ali and Arsalan Khan.”The sources added that the assailants escaped after the attack.
Ladha, once a stronghold of the Taliban, lies between Kaniguram and Makeen. It is the largest of the agency’s administrative sub-divisions in terms of population. The army had regained control of Ladha from the Taliban in 2009 during Operation Rah-i-Nijat. The region is mountainous and has several Taliban sanctuaries.
Meanwhile, gunship helicopters of the army aviation destroyed a terrorist training camp and ammunition depot in Gurbaz village of North Waziristan’s Shawal district, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The statement added that a number of suspected terrorists were also killed in air strikes. The details could not be independently verified as access for media personnel is severely restricted in the region.
North and South Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives, among others.
According to the ISPR, troops have been deployed along its border with neighbouring agencies to block any movement of terrorists in and out of the region.
Many militants have fled to other parts of Pakistan, and some into Afghanistan, complicating the US-backed Kabul government’s fight against its own Taliban insurgency.
Army launched Zarb-i-Azb, a grand operation in the North Waziristan tribal region, following a Taliban-claimed attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last year.