Operation Rah-e-Shahadat (English: Path of Martyrdom; Urdu:راه شهادث), was a codename of a joint military operation that was commenced on 5 April 2013 by the Pakistan Army, with assistance provided by the PAF and Navy for air support. In close coordination with Local Peace Committee (Aman Lashkar), the army troops and special operations forces, aided by Frontier Corps, to flush out TTP and LeI militants from the Tirah Valley of the Khyber Agency. At least four Pakistani soldiers and 14 insurgents were killed while 5 soldiers were also wounded.[3][4] In a major aerial operation, the Pakistan Air Force and navy fighter jets pounded hideouts of banned group LeI in and according to military intelligence reports, many militants escaped from the areas taking with them their injured fighters.[5]
| Operation Rah-e-Shahadat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Global War on Terrorism | |||||||
 Military Intelligence map: Domain of Pakistan Armed Forces Operations to the areas adjacent to Afghanistan. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Commander(s) and Belligerent(s) | |||||||
 Pakistan |
 Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Swat Taliban Lashkar-e-Islam | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani LGen Khalid Rabbani Air Mshl Waseem-ud-din RAdm Ather Mukhtar MGen Ghayur Mehmood |
Hakimullah Mehsud Maulana Fazlullah Mangal Bagh Afridi Omar Khalid Khorasani | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
North–Western Forces Contingent  Northern Light Infantry Regiment[2] | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Hundreds | ||||||
On 12 April 2013, nine Pakistani soldiers and seven insurgents were killed during clashes in Sipah area of Tirah Valley. The security forces took control of the areas of Sandana and Sheikhmal Khel in Sipah area. Three Lashkar-e-Islam militants were also arrested while a dozen others were injured.[6] Two peace committee members were killed and 22 others were injured in a bomb blast in the same area.[7]
On 13 April 2013, Pakistan Army's ISPR said that seven militants were killed in the Tirah Valley on 12 April. It did not confirm the casualties suffered by the security forces.[8]
On 16 April 2013, a member of Zakhakhel peace committee (Tawheedul-ul-Islam) was killed in a bomb blast in Dari area of Tirah Valley.[9]
On 2 May 2013, four Taliban-linked insurgents were killed and five others wounded after Pakistani fighter jets targeted TTP hideouts in the Tirah Valley.[10]
On 5 May 2013, Pakistan Army's ISPR said that 16 insurgents and two soldiers were killed during heavy clashes in the Tirah Valley. Three soldiers were reported to be wounded. The military also claimed to have captured militant strongholds Kismat Sur and Sanghar and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition from the militants fleeing the area.[11]
References
edit- ^ APP (21 June 2013). "Tirah Valley: Security forces clear out militants from Maidan". Express Tribune, War Correspondents. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ Shinwari, Ibrahim (13 June 2013). "Army officer killed in Tirah valley blast". Dawn. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Pakistan army starts offensive in NW; 4 troops die". U.S. News & World Report. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Tirah Valley clash leaves 14 militants, 4 security officials dead". The Express Tribune. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Warplanes pound militant hideouts in FATA, 8 killed". GEO News, 2013. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "Nine soldiers, 7 militants killed in Tirah". Dawn. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "TTP denies Mangal Bagh appointed Khyber militant chief". Dawn. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Seven militants killed in Tirah, Khyber Agency during last 24 hours". Daily Times (Pakistan). 14 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Member of lashkar killed in Tirah blast". The News International. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Four militants killed, five injured in Tirah strikes". Dawn. 1 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ "Troops kill 16 militants in Tirah valley: Military". Express Tribune. 5 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2013.