The Battle of Mirali was a bloody military engagement occurred between 7 October and 10 October 2007 and involved Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers around the town of Mirali, Pakistan (North Waziristan), the second biggest town in the semi-autonomous region on the border with Afghanistan.
| Battle of Mirali | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Pakistan Army Pakistan Air Force |
 Tehrik-e-Taliban | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
9th Infantry Division 5th Army Aviation Wing No. 16 Squadron Panthers | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
47 killed 20 wounded |
175 killed 100 wounded | ||||||
  Mirali Location within Pakistan | |||||||
Timeline of the battle edit
According to the Pakistani Armed Forces, the clashes broke out on 7 October after militants set off improvised explosive devices and conducted ambushes on a Pakistani convoy, near the town of Mirali. The subsequent engagements killed nearly 200 people. The army says the casualties were militants and soldiers but local people reported at least ten civilians were among the dead. Hundreds of people fled Mirali after more than 50 houses were damaged in the fighting.[1][2]
After a number of attacks on military convoys, near Mirali, the Pakistan Army sent helicopter gunships and Pakistan Air Force jet fighters to target suspected militant positions in several villages around that region.[citation needed]
On 9 October, according to the Pakistani Army, military aircraft struck "one or two places" near Mirali. There were confirmed reports that about 50 militants had been killed.[citation needed]
Truce edit
On 15 October, Pakistani soldiers and tribal fighters in the northwestern province of North Waziristan agreed to a truce, and the Pakistani forces lifted the curfew over the area.[3] This truce was over by the end of the month.[4]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Al Jazeera English - News - Scores Killed In Pakistan Battles Archived 2007-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Al Jazeera English - News - Scores Killed In Waziristan Clashes Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aamir Latif (16 October 2007). "Curfew lifted in northwest Pakistan". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
- ^ "Pakistani truce collapses". News.com.au. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007. [dead link]