KOHAT, Jan 29: Army and paramilitary troops, backed by tanks, patrolled the Darra Adamkhel town on Tuesday and seized arms and ammunition in different areas.

Because of a curfew in the town, residents remained confined to their homes. The security forces claimed on Tuesady to have captured the hilltops around the town.

They said that Sheraki area, considered to be a stronghold of militants, was under curfew, although most of the local people had left the area for safe places.

During a search operation, troops seized a truck with heavy weapons in Zarghunkhel area, and a large quantity of arms was found in bunkers vacated by the militants.

They continued to pound suspected militant locations with artillery on Tuesday.

The Corps Commander of Peshawar, Lt-Gen Masud Aslam, visited Darra Adamkhel where he was briefed on details of the operation by field commanders.

The corps commander expressed satisfaction over the progress of the operation and asked the security forces to clear the area as soon as possible.

The military authorities announced a relaxation in curfew from 3pm to 6pm but kept intact the restrictions on the movement of vehicles near the tunnel and other sensitive areas.

Troops also continued attacks in the Tor Chappar area near Jawaki on the fifth day of the operation in Darra Adamkhel.

The Zarghunkhel of the Afridi clan has been cleared of the militants but troops were yet to take control of the area.

Two commanders of the militants, Tariq and Zahid are reported to have escaped towards Khyber Agency. Another commander, Momin, has surrendered whereas another top militant who was holding the Kotal hill, died in a helicopter attack.

Meanwhile, an attempt was made to blow up the main gas supply line near Dodha village in Kohat district. Police found an oil container packed with 15 kg of explosives attached to the pipeline valve. The explosives were not properly attached to detonators and therefore no major damage was caused to the pipeline.

The forces have still not found the four ammunition trucks which had been seized by the militants on the Indus Highway on Wednesday.

There are reports that the militants had taken the trucks to the Afghan border on Wednesday night when the authorities were trying to resolve the issue through talks. The talks continued for two days and provided enough time to the militants to whisk away the trucks meant for troops in Waziristan.

Some of officials are of the opinion that the trucks had been blown up inside the tunnel by the militants. But considering the quantity of explosives in the trucks, the officials’ view does not appear to be correct because the tunnel has suffered very little damage.

Officials confirmed that 72 militants had died in the five-day operation and the locals were saying that dozens of bodies were still lying in the mountains.

In a related development, the Station Commander of Kohat, Brig Ishfaq Ahmed summoned the elders of Janglekhel and Sheikhan areas of Kohat district, to his office on Tuesady and were told that presence of militants in their areas had been reported.

Security agencies in Kohat had received reports that the militants fleeing Darra Adamkhel were behind the recent acts of terrorism in which railway track, and gas pipeline had been damaged and that they were now planning suicide attacks in the cantonment.

The station commander warned the elders that anyone found supporting the militants would be severely dealt with. He also warned them that the army could conduct operation on the pattern of Darra Adamkhel to flush out militants from these areas. He asked them to inform police and the army about the presence of militants to avert military action.

District Police Officer Dr Vaqar informed the commander that police patrolling had been stepped up in the area and assured him that police were ready to deal with any untoward situation.

The meeting was attended by Israr Shinwari, Faheem Khan, Haji Iftikhar, Shafi Durrani and nazims and councillors.