Pakistan troops kill 13 fighters in Hangu operation

KOHAT, Pakistan-A Pakistani army helicopter killed five Taliban militants on Friday in a restive northwestern town, taking the death toll in three days of fighting to 13, government and military officials said.An offensive was launched late on Wednesday in the Hangu district after militants killed 15 soldiers in an ambush last weekend and threatened to kill some 49 troops and officials being held hostage.Early Friday morning the army helicopter spotted a vehicle filled with Islamist fighters in an area close to the Orakzai tribal region, previously one of the most peaceful of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal lands."The helicopter fired at a vehicle in Zargari area, killing five militants and wounding six," a government official in the region said.After the attack, militants managed to take away their wounded comrades, while the dead were shifted to Hangu, according to officials.A military official in the region confirmed the action. He said 13 militants had been killed in the past few days.On Thursday, troops cleared two militant strongholds in Hangu district.Residents and military officials said the security forces followed up by targeting militant positions in the surrounding hills with artillery and helicopter gunships.

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