"It is a massive military action against the Taliban militants and their allies in the Shawal mountains," said a government official who asked for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about military operations. The Pakistani Taliban controlled almost the entire north-western region of North Waziristan until troops launched an offensive there last year. The Taliban still control the Shawal Valley and have used it as a launchpad for attacks on forces.
The area is a stronghold of Khan "Sajna" Said, a leader of a Taliban faction whose name was added to a sanctions list of "specially designated global terrorists" by US authorities last year. Jets began bombing the valley in the early hours of Friday, and a military statement said 15 militants were killed. A Taliban spokesman said the 15 were all civilians. "Jets bombed the houses of innocent people, none of our men or mujahids were killed in these air strikes," he said.
It was impossible to verify the reports because the fighting is in areas sealed off to journalists. "Hundreds of trucks and pickups full of soldiers and weapons ... are moving towards Shawal," said Zainullah, a telephone operator in the valley. "There are roadblocks everywhere, no one can come in or go out. There is a complete curfew and phones lines are also being cut." Several military officials told Reuters the military had requested help from Afghanistan to prevent militants from fleeing over the border. Any co-operation would be a significant step forward in a thaw in relations that began when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took office last year.
Nato forces, which left Afghanistan last year, had repeatedly urged Pakistan to take action against Taliban havens. Neither the Pakistani nor the Afghan military responded to requests for comment. Government officials in the area said they were not authorised to comment. A resident said there had been fighting between the militants and the military on the edge of the Shawal Valley and civilians feared being trapped.
"We are in fear, especially the kids," he said. "We are now preparing to leave the area and shift to safe places, because last night artillery shells were fired continuously." The Pakistani Taliban are allied with Afghan Taliban and share a similar jihadist ideology. But they operate as a separate entity, aiming to topple the Pakistani state and establishing strict Islamic rule.