PHOTO: ISPR

PHOTO: ISPR

Pakistani forces carried out targeted air strikes in the Khyber Agency on Wednesday, killing several terrorists who had crossed over from Afghanistan.“On credible intelligence regarding movement of terrorists from Nangarhar, Afghanistan into Rajgal valley, Khyber Agency targeted air strikes [were] conducted in the Sattar Kalay and Narai Nau areas of Rajgal Valley, Khyber Agency,” Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement. “Many [terrorists] killed, few injured. Injured and survivors fled back. Hideouts destroyed,” the terse statement added.Security sources put the number of militants killed in the air strikes at six. They said as many were injured and at least two hideouts were destroyed in the air blitz. One of the hideouts – located in the Rajgal area of Tirah right on the border with Afghanistan – was used by terrorists as an ammunition dump, according to them.Rajgal and its surrounding areas were considered strongholds of terrorists until eight years ago when they were routed in a series of military operations.Tirah Valley is a remote yet strategic gateway that links Afghanistan’s northern corridor to Pakistan. Some of the toughest and most tenacious terrorist groups, especially Mangal Bagh Afridi’s outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam, once held sway in the valley.In August 2016, the military mounted a relatively small-scale operation, codenamed Khyber-III, to secure Tirah and deny terrorists ease of movement between the Khyber and Kurram agencies, and between Pakistan and Afghanistan.Since then, the writ of the state has been re-established in the region and life has started returning to normalcy.In a related development, the military claimed on Wednesday that security forces have thwarted a terrorist bid in Zhob district of Balochistan.The paramilitary Frontier Corps, Balochistan, seized a large amount of explosives, rockets and ammunition during a raid on a compound during a search operation, the military’s media wing, the ISPR, said in a statement.The raid was a part of the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, which was launched after a series of terrorist attacks in the country in February.Meanwhile, a large cache of arms and ammunitions were recovered from two caves in Zangutai area of Miranshah, some 50 metres away from compounds searched by Army’s special engineers 499 group.Terrorists hid a large number of ammo magazines in one of the caves where an arrangement for ventilation was made by fixing a plastic pipe at the top of it.