Soldier, five civilians killed in Waziristan | Newspaper | DAWN.COM
MIRAMSHAH: Security forces resorted to indiscriminate firing and shelling in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday, killing five innocent people, one of them a child, after two military convoys were attacked.
According to sources, the security personnel began shelling some villages in Mirali tehsil in retaliation against an attack by militants on a military convoy.
Local people said the forces pounded Embraksha, Nowrek and Hakimkhel villages in Mirali tehsil with heavy artillery pieces after militants attacked the convoy with machine guns. One soldier died in the attack and several others were injured.
The shelling was continuing till the filing of this report. The heavy shelling claimed the life of a child and injured several other people.
The sources said the villagers have been forced to flee to safe places. “People are running towards Haiderkhel village for shelter,” a villager told Dawn by telephone.
A roadside bomb ripped through another military convoy, injuring several soldiers.
Local people said that two women were killed and another injured when security personnel resorted to indiscriminate firing after the bomb explosion.
The soldiers also fired mortar shells, one of which hit a house, killing a woman and injuring two others. Later, one of the injured women died in a hospital in Miramshah, according to doctors.
The political administration imposed a curfew in towns and villages along the main road after the bomb attack on the military convoy. Interestingly, the security personnel were targeted despite a warning against such attacks by the Shura-i-Muraqiba (observation council) of the Taliban. The five-member council has representation from major Taliban groups, including the faction led by Commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur.
Gul Bahadur and elders of the Uthmankhel tribe have signed a peace agreement with the government.
Meanwhile, a man and a woman were injured when an anti-personnel mine exploded in Ghulam Khan tehsil near the Afghan border.
Local people said that security forces had planted the mines to protect them from militant attacks.
A camel was hit by a mine. When the woman ran towards the camel to save it, she too was hit by a mine. A man was hit by a mine when he tried to rescue the woman.
The animal died on the spot while the injured people were taken to the government hospital in Miramshah.
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Curfew in Miramshah: Three killed by shelling, 2 in clash | Newspaper | DAWN.COM
MIRAMSHAH: Intense shelling by security forces left three people dead and 42 others, including women and children, injured in North Waziristan on Sunday night and Monday and a curfew was imposed in Miramshah.
According to officials, two militants were killed and three security personnel injured in overnight clashes near Miramshah.
Security personnel demolished five buildings in Miramshah bazaar.
The administration has convened a jirga of Utmankhel tribe to negotiate a ceasefire.
The clashes erupted after militants attacked the Ameen post near Miramshah late on Sunday night. Firing of rockets and mortar shells turned the area into a battlefield and a fierce clash continued for about an hour.
“People could not sleep the whole night because of loud explosions,” a resident said.
Officials said three security personnel were injured and two attackers killed.
The administration imposed a curfew in Miramshah after dawn and army and paramilitary troops, backed by armoured personnel carriers, started demolishing buildings.
An official said militants were using some buildings as shelter after firing on security personnel. A hotel and four other buildings were razed with explosives.
The Miramshah bazaar and adjoining areas were without electricity.
Witnesses said the security forces fired mortar shell at a building in the town. One of the shells killed three people and injured 28 others. The injured were taken to the main hospital where doctors said three of them were in critical condition.
Four students were injured by another mortar shell explosion. They were going to an examination hall when the shell exploded near them.
A large number of students could not appear in annual examination because of the curfew.