In another development, three rockets were fired from the Afghan side of the border on the security forces camp in North Waziristan.
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The Pakistani military was able to corner Mahsud in Shawal because his betrayal of Taliban colleagues had made it unsafe to leave his stronghold, the ex militants and researchers said.
Air strikes, artillery, mortars and ground troops have all been used to retake territory in North Waziristan, which had become a haven for fighters with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant outfits. The army is meeting fierce resistance as it moves further into the lower-lying areas of the Shawal Valley, the Taliban’s last stronghold, military officials said.
“We will not stop unless we achieve our end objective of a terror-free Pakistan”, Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif said in a visit to troops on Friday. The heavily forested ravines in the area are dotted with Taleban hideouts and the area is a key smuggling route into neighbouring Afghanistan.
The COAS commended the professionalism, sacrifices and high morale of troops who have completed the preliminary phase of Shawal operation by seizing peaks around the strategic valley.
At least three soldiers were killed and six others injured when a bomb hit their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Sunday, Xinhua reported. In another instance of an attack, militants opened fire on a security checkpoint in the Ladha subdivision in South Waziristan where two soldiers and three people were injured.
Angered at being overlooked for the post of Pakistani Taliban chief in November 2013, he provided detailed intelligence against the faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the top militant commander for North Waziristan.
General Raheel appreciated special integrated teams which carried out Intelligence Based Operations across urban areas of Pakistan and severed links between terrorist’s sanctuaries in remote areas. Indiscriminate action has been taken against the terrorist groups, said General Asim Bajwa.
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Pakistani security forces are now engaged in a massive operation against militants in North Waziristan and other tribal regions.
