RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: At least 12 militants were killed in shelling by Pakistan Army’s gunship helicopters in Datta Khel area of the North Waziristan agency on Wednesday, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
In a statement, the ISPR said that four militant hideouts and seven vehicles were also destroyed in the latest strikes.
#Breaking: 12 terrorists killed, 7 vehicles, 4 hideouts destroyed in shelling by gunships in Datta Khel, NWA #ZarbEAzb says ISPR
— JAAG TV (@JaagAlerts) January 7, 2015
The strikes were carried out as part of the ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb in the country’s restive northwestern tribal region.
The operation was launched on June 15 against various outlawed terror outfits as a renewed effort against militancy in the wake of the June 8 attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, for which the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) claimed responsibility.
The armed forces have intensified their countrywide operations against militants in the wake of the deadly terror attack that hit an army public school in Peshawar on December 16 and killed 150 persons mostly children.
On December 24, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the parliamentary leaders who met in Islamabad to finalize a national action plan against terrorism that that there is a dire need to expand the Zarb-e-Azb to the entire country against those elements who want to destabilize Pakistan.
