Pakistan: 23 soldiers and 110 Lashkar-e-Islam and the Pakistani Taliban talibans killed in Tirah valley offensive
At least 110 militants have been killed in a military operation in Pakistan’s federally-administered tribal areas, a senior Army official told Newsweek late Monday.
“The Army seized control of strategic posts from the militants and ground troops have established their positions,” said the official, who wished not to be named. He said 23 Pakistani troops have been killed and another 13 injured fighting the joint forces of the Lashkar-e-Islam militia and the Pakistani Taliban in Tirah valley.
The high-pitch battle in Khyber agency’s Tirah valley started Friday, after the Pakistani Taliban occupied the valley last month, forcing an exodus of residents to Peshawar. According to U.N. estimates, some 40,000 people from the valley—most of them women and children—are now taking refuge in the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.