4 militants, 2 troops killed in NW Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Four suspected militants and two army troops were killed in a clash near northwestern North Waziristan tribal region on Thursday, the Pakistan army said.

The clash occured in Janikhel area near North Waziristan during a security operation resulting in death of two troops, including a lieutenant, and four militants, a statement from the Pakistan army said. The operation was part of a recently launched countrywide anti-terrorism campaign by the Pakistan army.

North Waziristan - once dubbed as heartland of militancy - is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan, where the army had launched a full-scale onslaught hoping to eliminate Pakistani Taliban's mother coalition Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan in 2014. More than 5000 suspected militants and over 700 troops have been killed in aerial strikes, clashes and landmine blasts since then. The figures, however, could not be independently verified as media is not allowed to operate in the operation-hit areas.

The operation also displaced over a million tribesmen, of them, the government claims, over 80 per cent have returned to their homes.