Pakistan Says 80 Militants Killed In Raid
October 30, 2006
PESHAWAR, Pakistan; October 30, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Pakistan says 80 militants have been killed in an attack by Pakistani Army helicopters against an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist training facility in a tribal area near the Afghan border.
Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said the predawn attack today targeted a madrasah religious school compound in a village near Khar, in the Bajur tribal district.
"We had intelligence that a madrasah in the tribal region of Bajaur was being used for wrongdoing," he said. "According to our information, there were 70 to 80 militants in this madrasah who were training and learning terrorist tactics. We have been observing them for many days. When we confirmed the information that training for terrorist activities was going on there, our security forces responded with this attack today."
Sultan added that no prominent militants were believed to have been in the compound at the time of the attack.
(RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)