By DPA
Islamabad : At least 20 Islamic militants and five soldiers were killed in clashes with government forces for control of a strategic road tunnel in Pakistan’s restive tribal area, the army said Sunday.
The militants captured the Friendship Tunnel on the Indus Highway, which links North-West Frontier Province with southern and central Pakistan, near the tribal town of Darra Adam Khel Friday evening by killing five troops and capturing ten more at a nearby security check post.
“Helicopter gunships targeted insurgents’ position in the mountains near the tunnel last night. Around 20 miscreants were killed in the action,” said military’s chief spokesman Major General Athar Abbas.
The fighting in Darra Adam Khel, a town known for its illegal arms manufacturing and market, started Friday when the government troops launched an offensive to recover four trucks carrying ammunition which rebels had seized. 30 Islamic militants and two security personnel died on the first day of violence.
The militants retaliated and closed the highway, which is routinely used by the army for transporting supplies and troops from Kohat base to the tribal areas, where the military is fighting with the Al Qaeda terrorists and pro-Taliban militants.
“It is a mountainous area and the operation will proceed slowly but our troops are making advance,” Abbas said.
Heavy shelling and fire from Cobra helicopters continued to rock the besieged town, where hundreds of families have fled for the safer areas.
The security forces have directed the non-combatant tribesmen to hoist white flags on their rooftops to avert collateral damage. On Friday, a rocket fired by the troops narrowly missed a school van.
The violence has spread to many tribal districts including South Waziristan where another military operation was underway against a pro-Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who has been accused of masterminding the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
The restive South Waziristan tribal belt is a safe haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters carrying out cross-border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan and hundreds of Pakistani troops are believed to have died in the recent weeks to contain them.