Showing posts with label pound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pound. Show all posts

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Jets pound militants in NWA, kill 13



 













MIRANSHAH: After a few days of lull, the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets on Tuesday again pounded seven suspected hideouts of militants in North Waziristan and reportedly killed 13 terrorists.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a brief statement to the media about the latest air strikes in the Degan village, which had been attacked earlier as well.The press release didn’t provide further details about the air strikes and the identity of the slain militants.

Degan is located in the Dattakhel Tehsil, near the Afghan border, and is considered a stronghold of the North Waziristan-based Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur.Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group isn’t part of the mainstream Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by the Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah.

It was the second time that jet fighters carried out bombing in Dattakhel after the launch of the military operation in North Waziristan on June 15. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has until now remained neutral and has announced a ceasefire due to Ramazan till the 10th day of Eidul Fitr and directed his fighters not to attack the security forces.

Taliban sources said some of Gul Bahadur’s fighters had attacked a security checkpoint called Tipo in the Spinwam Tehsil a few days ago, killing two soldiers and causing injuries to a few others. The military authorities, however, didn’t confirm this report and said the soldiers died in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Also, despite repeated warnings by the military authorities and local political administration, the majority of the residents are said to be still residing in Dattakhel and its adjoining villages.

Miranshah and Mir Ali, which are the two major residential and commercial towns in North Waziristan, were largely in control of the militants from the TTP, Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Punjabi Taliban while Gul Bahadur and his fighters dominated Dattakhel when the military launched the operation on June 15.

The militants and residents have vacated both Miranshah and Mir Ali and the adjoining villages but Dattakhel is still said to be in control of Gul Bahadur and his men. Also, residents haven’t vacated Razmak, Dossali and Garyoom tehsils as well as Shawa and Spinwam under arrangements with the army and the administration in return for guarantees that they won’t allow the militants to hide in their areas.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

60 terrorists killed as warplanes pound militant hideouts in NWA




PESHAWAR: Pakistan Air Force warplanes bombarded militant hideouts in country’s northwestern tribal, killing 60 terrorists including foreign fighters.

According to an ISPR statement, 30 terrorists were also injured.

Sources said that the PAF jets pounded the suspected hideouts in Mir Ali and other areas of North Waziristan tribal region.

They said that some foreigners were also killed in the air strikes. Pakistan has engaged The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of more than 30 militant organizations, in talks in a bid to put an end to home grown insurgency.

However, there has been little progress in peace process as the TTP saw raging infighting in South Waziristan between two groups of the militant organization headed by Khan Said Sajna and Sheryar Mehsud.

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Family who lost dog during Sandy finds it at pound




EATONTOWN: A New Jersey family whose terrier-pit bull mix escaped from their backyard during Superstorm Sandy went to an animal shelter this week to adopt a new pet and came home with their old dog.

Chuck James tells The Associated Press that his family searched for the brown-and-white dog named Reckless for months after the October 2012 storm before finally giving up hope.

"We reported him missing and called the shelters periodically, just hoping they had him," James said Saturday. "We always kept our hopes up, but eventually it's time to move on."

James said the family had planned in recent weeks to get a new dog as a 10th birthday surprise for their eldest daughter, Ally.

But when the family of five went to the Monmouth County SPCA on Thursday to adopt a new animal, James and his wife approached the first cage and saw a familiar face inside.

"He was a little bigger than I remembered because they had fed him well," James joked. "But then he was laying on my wife's feet, and I knew it was him. ... I was in disbelief. I know this dog is meant to be with our family."

When SPCA officials asked if they could prove the animal was their dog, a friend sent over a picture showing the family with their dog before Sandy hit the Jersey shore.

"We're all so happy to have him back," James said. "Thank God for no-kill shelters because every time they kill an animal, it's somebody's friend who might be lost. Thank God they didn't put him down because this would have been a different story."

SPCA officials say Reckless was picked up as a stray and has now been microchipped.

The family is living in a hotel while their storm-damaged Keansburg home is repaired. This weekend, the Jameses went on a camping trip with Reckless to celebrate the dog's return.

Thursday, 24 April 2014

23 killed as jets pound militant hideouts in Khyber Agency



PESHAWAR: Pakistani fighter jets pounded suspected militant hideouts in Khyber Agency near the Afghan border on Thursday killing twenty-three extremists and injuring several others, Geo News reported on Thursday.

The operation comes despite efforts by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government to engage the Taliban in talks to end years of fighting with an insurgency seeking to topple the democratically elected government in the capital Islamabad.

"Terrorist hideouts were engaged by fighter jets in Khyber agency early (in the) morning today," the army's press wing said in a text message sent to media.

Nine militants’ compounds were also destroyed during bombing by the fighter jets.

It said it was a response to a number of recent attacks against police and civilians in Islamabad and Peshawar.

A senior military official in Peshawar said the operation, which started early on Thursday, was still under way.

"After the jets, Pakistan army ground forces also launched operations in the area," he said.

Last week the Pakistani Taliban - a loose alliance of militant groups separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban - formally ended a 40-day ceasefire but attempts to resume talks have continued nonetheless.

Representatives of both sides met in Islamabad on Wednesday, agreeing to pave the way for the next round of negotiations aimed at finding a compromise that would convince the Taliban to lay down their weapons.