Pak Army intensifies operation in South Waziristan, kills 22 Taliban insurgents

Peshawar, June 21 (ANI): At least 22 Taliban insurgents and other extremists have reportedly been killed, as the Pakistan Army intensified its operation against the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban in South Waziristan.

According to sources, the security forces are engaged in a gruesome battle in the region, and are also being assisted by Pakistan Air Force fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

The troops have cleared a portion of the Wana-Jandola Road, as helicopter gunships and fighter planes targeted the militants, who had occupied the hilltops nearby.

However, military officials claimed that 32 militants were killed in the operation during artillery shelling and bombardment by the helicopter gunship.

The militants are offering a stiff resistance to the security forces in the region, as the military is advancing towards Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, The News reports.

Sources said the residents have already fled their villages for safer places in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan Districts, fearing a big offensive.

Many of the displaced persons in the region complained that the government was doing nothing to relocate them properly.

The former close aide of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, Qari Zainuddin Mehsud has asked the government to assist and help the displaced people.

"I urge the government to come forward and help the displaced tribesmen so that they could assist us in the ongoing operation against Baitullah Mehsud," said Mehsu, who has formed his own group named, Karwan-e-Abdullah Mehsud, after parting ways with the TTP chief. (ANI)