Tanks and choppers kill 40 militants, claims army

* Military spokesman says operation also left 10 soldiers dead

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Troops backed by tanks and gunships cleared militant hideouts near the Afghan border on Thursday in a major offensive that left ten soldiers and 40 rebels dead, the army said.

Thirty insurgents were also arrested during the fighting in South Waziristan. The large-scale operation follows days of gunbattles and rebel advances in the region.

Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said soldiers had cleared militants from their “hideouts and strongholds” in the Spinkai Raghazai, Nawazkot and Tiarza areas of the tribal zone.

“Our forces are now consolidating their positions. The militants are using rockets, machine guns and Kalashnikovs,” Abbas told AFP.

Tanks had moved in to protect the movement of army convoys, an army statement said.

Officials said helicopters were also pounding insurgent positions. The statement said 40 “miscreants have been killed in the last 24 hours and 30 miscreants have been apprehended, many of them injured,” while eight soldiers were killed and 32 injured.

Another two troops were killed and seven injured on Thursday, Abbas said, making it one of the heaviest losses suffered by the military in several weeks of fighting. Abbas said he was not aware of the whereabouts of rebel commander Baitullah Mehsud.

“It is not known whether he was taking part in the fighting or present in those areas,” Abbas told AFP. afp

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Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.