Pakistani troops kill 33 militants after suicide bombing

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- More than 30 militants have been killed after Pakistani troops mounted helicopter and mortar attacks on militants in Pakistan's volatile tribal region, less than a day after a suicide bomber killed two soldiers at a mosque, officials said on Thursday.

The series of incidents began on Wednesday evening when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque near a checkpoint known as Khajori in the Mir Ali district just east of Miranshah, the main town in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area. The region is near the border with Afghanistan and is frequently the target of U.S. drone strikes.

The suicide bombing killed at least two praying soldiers and injured 28 others, army spokesman Major Muhammad Shafiq Malik said. It was followed by a second incident in which militants attempted to ambush a convoy of security forces that was returning from Khajori post, where they had provided assistance to the victims of the suicide bombing.

"Security forces valiantly responded and encircled fleeing terrorists and inflicted heavy casualties on them," Malik said on Thursday, adding: "The firefight continued for some time which resulted into the killing of 23 terrorists. In exchange of fire, three security forces personnel were also injured."

Another operation took place on Thursday afternoon after the military received intelligence that militants were preparing car bombs at a hideout in Mir Ali district. "Security forces launched a search operation, killing 10 more terrorists," Malik said, adding that most of them were from Uzbekistan.

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