Military kills 14 Taliban on outskirts of Khar

Military kills 14 Taliban on outskirts of Khar

Thursday, 19 Feb, 2009 | 09:45 PM PST |


A tank fires towards Taliban positions in the Bajaur tribal region, October 25, 2008. - Reuters

KHAR: Troops backed by gunship helicopters pounded suspected Taliban fighter hideouts near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing 14 people, officials told AFP.



Troops attacked several houses, which the Islamist militants had used as bases to attack security forces on the outskirts of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region, security officials said.



‘At least 14 insurgents were killed and several others wounded,’ one security official told AFP.



A local government official Farooq Khan confirmed the casualties.



‘Security forces have seized control of Taliban-held areas after killing 14 militants,’ he told AFP.



Pakistani government troops, backed by air assets, have been engaged in heavy operations in Bajaur in an attempt to rid the area of extremists under Western pressure to stop infiltrations into Afghanistan.