Pakistani security forces killed 42 more militants during the last 24 hours as the operation in the country's tribal area steadily progressed towards the Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan, the any said Tuesday in a daily press release.
The army said one soldier was killed and another two security forces personnel were injured
in clashes in the last 24 hours during the ground assault in various areas in the tribal agency near
the border with Afghanistan.
In the operation coded as Rah-e-Nijat, or path of salvation, the security forces continued
shelling on extremists' hideouts on main Jandola-Sararogha axis, Shakai-Kaniguram axis and Razmak- Makeen axis, the army said.
Huge caches of arms and ammunition have also been recovered during the operation,according to the press release.
In the ending operation in Swat and Malakand, the army said, the security arrested three suspects with another eight voluntarily surrendered.
So far, 7,025 cash cards have been distributed amongst the displaced families of Waziristan and 5.3 million rupees have been withdrawn by the displaced families of
Waziristan, the army said.
Pakistani security forces launched the ground assault on Oct. 17 in the South Waziristan,
advancing towards the main base of Taliban militants in Pakistan. The army said that about
30,000 soldiers are in place to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban militants in the lawless area.
The military said that the operation was launched in six towns of the area in three directions and is likely to continue for six to eight weeks, but no final deadline can
be given.