US arms in use against Pakistani forces: ISPR

The military on Friday said US weapons stolen from Afghanistan were being used against security forces in Swat and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).Briefing newsmen, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the terrorists in FATA and Swat were getting material and financial support across the Afghan border and said that some hostile foreign agencies were abetting them. Answering a question about the assertions over the security of strategic assets of Pakistan, he said the United States should stop worrying about the nukes and start thinking about the weapons lost in Afghanistan. ‘We are not surprised if these weapons slip out from Afghanistan and many of them are found in Swat and are being used against our troops’, he remarked.Gen Athar said the packing of the food items also shows that they were part of relief goods meant to reach the people stranded in the areas where the military operation against militants was taking place.The security forces continued with cordon and search operation and successfully cleared the stronghold of miscreants at Peochar village, he elaborated. The security forces have killed 28 more terrorists including six of their area commanders and seven others including two of their area commanders were apprehended in various parts of Swat, ISPR said in an update about the Operation Rah-e-Rast issued on Friday. Security forces are making advance towards Kalaam afoot. Five security personnel and two civilians were also injured, in clashes with terrorists. The terrorists commanders killed were identified as Khush Mir Khan known as Abu Huzaifa of Bahrain, Kadir of Kumbar, Noor Hameed of Kokoi Banda, Aftab and Yousaf of Dubana, Iftikhar of Sharlara and Bakht Buland of Shagai. The security forces continued cordon and search operations and successfully cleared the strongholds of miscreants at Peochar village. During the search and siege operation, the security forces also destroyed miscreants’ hideouts including a Madrasa and recovered 12 UN registered vehicles, earlier taken away by the terrorists. The security forces also discovered four tunnels dumped with ration items, snatched from NGOs, besides huge cache of arms including 12.7 mm guns. A soldier was wounded during clashes with miscreants. Cordon and search operation is also continuing in Mingora where the security forces have successfully got cleared Aman Kot and Technical Institute College on Mingora-Kokarai road. During the operation five miscreant-terrorists were apprehended. In Bahrain, where the security forces had entered on Thursday, various incidents of clashes took place with the miscreants as a result of which, nine miscreant-terrorists were killed including commander of Bahrain identified as Khush Mir Khan, known as Abu Huzaifa. During fire exchanges with miscreants, two soldiers and two civilians were injured. The security forces successfully defused five IEDs during search operation around Daggar where incidents of exchange of fire also took place between miscreants hiding in a compound, resultantly killing 13 miscreants. As far as the relief activities for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is concerned 50 tons ration by Army for 70,000 people was despatched for the distribution among the stranded people of Khawzakhela. A five-member Defence and Security Analysis team visited Buner for feasibility to establish relief camps in the area. The security forces despatched five trucks load of rations for the people of Bahrain while eight truck load of ration was distributed among a group of people from Kalam.

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