The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Tuesday that no civilian was targeted during the fighting in Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency.
TTP spokesman Ehasanullah Ehsan said that those who became part of the war against the Taliban will not be spared. He claimed that the TTP had controlled 95 percent of Tirah Valley. He conceded that 15 TTP men were killed while 20 others injured during the fighting.
Ehsan said further the civilians should not run away as the Taliban would not harm them. He said the war in the tribal agency began after the Ansarul Islam (AI) violated agreements.
Meanwhile, hundreds of families fled the Zara Mela area of Khyber Agency due to escalating war between the two rival militant groups and took shelter in Kurram Agency and Peshawar.
The elders of Qamberkhel, Alikhel Afridi tribes said their houses have been destroyed in the skirmishes among the militants and security forces, adding that the tribesmen, including women and children, were forced to leave the area on foot. They demanded that the government provide compensation to the affected families.
According to reports, 250 militants have been killed so far during the fighting in Khyber Agency for the last two months, while over 1,000 families have been displaced.
