The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter which crashed yesterday at Sarah Ghari in Orakzai Agency.
At least 31 people, including 19 Taliban militants, were killed in fresh violence in Pakistan's troubled northwest today as fighter jets pounded terrorist hideouts in a tribal region where a military chopper crash claimed the lives of 26 security personnel.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter which crashed yesterday at Sarah Ghari in Orakzai Agency, about 20 km from the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The army has dismissed the Taliban claims, saying the chopper went down due to a "technical fault". Official sources said all 26 security personnel on board were killed.
Media reports said the helicopter was fired upon by militants after it crashed.
An operation was launched in Orakzai Agency by the security forces soon afterwards, with fighter jets and helicopter gunships targeting Taliban positions destroying three hideouts and killing 12 militants, media reported.
In the nearby Mohmand Agency, seven militants and 12 members of a 'lashkar' or tribal militia were killed in clashes last night. The fighting broke out after the Taliban attacked the homes of the lashkar members.
Seventeen lashkar members were reported missing after the clashes and it is feared that they had been kidnapped by the militants.
Meanwhile, the military said in a statement that seven militants were apprehended and a huge cache of arms, ammunition and equipment was seized during search operations in the restive Malakand division during the past 24 hours.
Six militants were captured during a search operation at Mangaltan valley while another surrendered to security forces in Bahrain. Troops found three tunnels about 60 metres long during a search operation in the Shamozai area. They also seized 15 rifles, 11 SMGs, three pistols, fuses and a roll of detonating cord, ammunition and police bulletproof jackets.
In Mangaltan valley, they found two rifles, grenades, RDX explosives, electric detonators, rations and a large number of camouflage uniforms. Search operations in Surgalai, Parinda Baba Ziarat, Dangram and Kokarai led to the recovery of IEDs, currency of different countries and machine guns.
The army has claimed it has killed over 1,600 militants since its offensive against the Taliban was launched in May. Over 130 troops have also died in the operations.
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