Pakistani army helicopters raided
suspected militant hideouts near the Afghan border in a predawn airstrike
Tuesday, killing 25 militants and a prominent Taliban commander, military
sources and news reports said.
Geo TV said Adnan Rasheed, a Taliban
commander convicted of plotting to kill former Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf, was killed in the raid. The Taliban have not confirmed Rasheed’s
death.
Rasheed was sentenced to death for
plotting to kill Musharraf in December 2003 and escaped from prison in April
2012.
Military sources said the strike
targeted Taliban militants involved in a series of bombing attacks against army
personnel in restive northwestern Pakistan.
The army helicopters bombed
suspected militant hideouts in multiple villages of North Waziristan tribal
agency, the sources said.
Earlier reports from the tribal area
said at least 27 militants were killed and 17 injured.
While a security official claimed
that the operation was targeted, local residents said several civilians were
among those killed and injured.
The operation comes amid a stalemate
in government efforts for talks with the militants. Following deadly attacks by
the Pakistani Taliban against army personnel in recent days, calls have
escalated for an army operation against the militants.
The Pakistani Taliban on Sunday
claimed responsibility for a bomb attack against a military convoy in Khyber
Pakhtoonkhwa Province, killing 20 soldiers.
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