MIRAMSHAH, Sept 18: Bodies of 15 soldiers who had gone missing during recent clashes with militants in the Shawal area of the North Waziristan Agency were brought to Miramshah on Tuesday.

The bodies and two security personnel wounded in the clashes were brought from Pesh Ziarat area of Shawal in helicopters. Sources said that militants had captured these soldiers on Sunday night and killed all of them. One soldier was still missing, officials said.

Eighteen militants were also killed in the clashes near the Afghan border.

Witnesses told Dawn that the bodies of the soldiers had been badly mutilated and limbs of many of them had been chopped off.

The sources said that the militants had initially refused to hand over the soldiers’ bodies.

On Tuesday, political authorities sent local cleric Maulvi Roman Shah from Miramshah to Shawal to persuade them to hand over the bodies and two wounded soldiers. After negotiations, the militants handed over the bodies to some Jirga members.

Meanwhile security forces in the Datakhel area of North Waziristan came under attack Agency on Monday night, and three soldiers were wounded.

The sources said that militants used rockets and missiles in the attack.

Militants also targeted Jaler Post in the Mirali area on Monday night. No casualty was reported.