Miranshah:
The security forces killed eight terrorists on Monday, including some commanders of Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), during an operation in Datta Khel Tehsil, in the district of northern Waziristan. The operation was underway until the filing of this report, security sources claiming that more than two dozen terrorists were still locked in the region and using villagers as human shields.
Once again, Datta Khel resonated with the noise of gunshots and explosions, because the local population remained confined to their homes and faced shortages of food and other necessities.
Sources of security have said that 30 to 35 terrorists were still hiding in different places and used women, children and the elderly as human shields to avoid air strikes or drones.
They added that the terrorists killed on Monday belonged to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Badri group and the Jaish-E-Mehdi caravan. Among them were Hameedullah alias Gud, an explosives expert; Noor Muhammad Afghan, known for planting explosives through drones and quadcopters; and Umar, member of the TTP since 2009.
According to local sources, the operation in the hilly regions of Khursin and Doga Machha made life unbearable for residents.
In a neighboring mud house, an elderly woman, Fatima Bibi, said they never wanted the situation in their village to deteriorate to the point where they should again abandon the houses of their ancestors and face travel. “We don’t know where to go,” she added.
A local teacher said that educational activities had been suspended for three days and that the children could not leave their homes. “On the one hand, explosions, and on the other are the operation. We are taken in the middle and being crushed.”
