Islamabad, April 3 (DPA) At least 15 Islamic insurgents and one soldier were killed Saturday in clashes in Pakistan’s tribal region near the Afghan border, a security official said.
The fighting took place in the Orakzai district, where government forces launched an offensive last week to rout Taliban and Al Qaeda militants controlling the large territory.
A group of Taliban fighters ambushed a military convoy in the district and killed one soldier while another six were wounded, said a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, Major Fazalur Rehman.
Helicopter gunships later pounded militant positions and killed 15 to 20 rebels, Rehman said.
Orakzai is the latest battleground in the tribal region after militants moved there following a military offensive in the neighbouring district of South Waziristan in mid-October.
According to official data, more than 200 militants have died so far in the battles in Orakzai. Many of them are fighters linked with Al Qaeda.
The military operation has also displaced thousands of families who have taken shelter in the Hangu district in North-West Frontier Province.
