Pakistan army arrests wanted terrorist in Taliban base

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's security forces arrested a wanted terrorist leader and four suspects during the last 24 hours as the army advanced further into the Taliban strongholds of South Waziristan tribal agency, the army said Thursday in a daily press release.

The army apprehended the wanted terrorist Abdullah Shah Mehsud with 10 million rupees (about 125,000 U.S. dollars) head money in nearby Tank district, it said.

As the operation steadily progressed towards the Taliban base in three axes, the army said, the security forces cleared 60 houses at village Shahu and apprehended four suspects, established link up at Khuni Mor and Sarwekai, and carried out consolidation of their positions at village Behram Shah near Laki Ghund.

The army cleared 35 compounds, defused some improvised explosive devices and recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunitions during a search operation, it said.

Meanwhile in the ending operation in Swat and Malakand, two militants have been arrested and another eight suspects voluntarily surrendered themselves to the security forces, according to the statement.

On relief activities, so far 15,330 cash cards have been distributed amongst the displaced families of Waziristan, the army said.

According to the army statistics, Pakistani security forces have killed more than 600 militants since they launched the ground assault on Oct. 17 in South Waziristan, advancing towards the main base of Taliban militants in Pakistan. The army said that about 30,000 soldiers are in place to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban militants in the lawless area.

The military said that the operation was launched in six towns of the area in three directions and is likely to continue for six to eight weeks, but no final deadline can be given.