Peshawar: Declaring the operation in Shawal area of North Waziristan a success, the Pakistan Army has it has started clearing explosive devices in the area.
The Inter-Services Public Relations in a statement yesterday said that Army Chief General Raheel Sharif visited the embattled area near the Afghan border and was briefed about operational gains achieved so far, reports Dawn.
According to the statement, since the start of the last phase of Operation Zarb-i-Azb in February, more than 800 km area has been secured in Shawal and heavy casualties have been inflicted on terrorists.
Meanwhile, a security official said the ongoing phase of the operation had been successfully accomplished.
“Levels one and two of the operation have been completed in Shawal and clearance of IEDs and other explosive items is in progress,” Dawn quoted him as saying
He also added that kinetic operations would continue for a few days after the successful completion of the last phase before a formal announcement of the end of Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan.
The Operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the army in June 2014 to eliminate terrorist networks from the area.
According to officials, around 4,000 militants have been killed so far in the operation and tons of explosives have been recovered from Miramshah, Mirali and other areas.
However, more than one million civilians have been forced to flee their homes and take refuge in settled areas of the country. (ANI)