The attack in the Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency triggered a gunfight which also left 14 militants dead.
“Dozens of militants ambushed a Frontier Corps convoy in the Akakhel area of Bara, killing nine troops and injuring another three,” a senior military official in Peshawar told The Express Tribune.
“The Quick Reaction Force of the FC engaged the militants in a gunfight minutes after the attack, killing 14 of them,” said the official, who wished not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the matter.
Military spokesperson Maj-Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the attack but did not say how many troops were killed. “The attack continued for two to three hours, and there have been casualties in the ambush. There have been killings of the terrorists as well,” he told AFP.
Residents told The Express Tribune that paramilitary troops were conducting a search operation in the Misri Khan Killay area, southeast of Bara.
(Read: Khyber Agency - This is Bara, the town that militancy ruined)
The top government administrator in Bara subdivision confirmed the residents’ version. “Around 30 militants attacked FC troops during a search operation. They came under attack from a small hill where militants were hiding,” Assistant Political Agent Rehan Gul Khattak told AFP. “The attack damaged several FC vehicles, including a jeep which was totally destroyed.”
However, other official sources had a different account. They said the FC convoy was taking food rations for paramilitary troops stationed in the Akakhel area when it was attacked.
The Misri Khan Killay area is a stronghold of Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) extremist group which is led by notorious commander Mangal Bagh Afridi. A spokesperson for the group claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Express Tribune. He said only one LeI fighter was killed in the clash.
Residents said that helicopter gunships are continuously hovering over the area where the clash took place.
Mangal Bagh and his loyalists were routed from their headquarters in Bara as a result of a series of security operations in the Khyber Agency since 2008. However, Bara Bazaar remains under curfew since.
(Read: Militancy - Mangal Bagh loosens grip over Khyber Agency)
Monday’s attack came amid mounting tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border attacks. Islamabad believes that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and their senior cadres, who were routed from tribal regions and parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, are using Afghanistan’s eastern provinces as a springboard to mount attacks on security forces in the border regions.
Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told Reuters in an interview that Afghan and US-led forces had failed to hunt down Mullah Fazlullah, a Taliban cleric responsible for a spate of cross-border raids, despite repeated requests from Islamabad.
About 100 members of the security forces have been killed in such attacks. “The problem refuses to go away,” Maj-Gen Abbas said.
Fazlullah and hundreds of his fighters were defeated in their stronghold of Swat as a result of a military operation in 2009. “Now Fazlullah and his group are trying to re-enter Swat through Dir,” said Maj-Gen Abbas.
Asked about Pakistan’s complaint about Fazlullah, Lt Col Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said: “We are working with Pakistan to achieve our shared goals of lasting stability and security in Afghanistan and the broader region.”
Afghanistan’s spy agency rejected the charge and instead blamed Pakistan-based militants for carrying out attacks in Afghanistan.
“Terrorist groups usually come from the other side of the border and do some attacks,” said Lutfullah Mashal, the spokesperson for the National Directorate of Security.
(With additional input from agencies)
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2011.
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is it "Do More Do more " or "Kill more Kill more".>?
No any militants died in this attack, only annocent people targeted in the area, one sikh also died in BARA and one seriously injured due to mortar shell fired by FC. So sad today again mortar shell fired and annocent people died. We are requesting to Govt to investigate of killing of annocent of muslim brothers and sikhs. Why FC targeting annocent people in the area instead of militants???????????
@Usman: That view is convenient as long as you play dumb with the past. "Do more" isn't recent. It has basically been a justifiable request from the start. With that in mind, it's really hard to care when Pakistan requests anything nowadays. But, luckily for you, you've just been pointing out the obvious. That man has always been a target. Give his exact location and I'm sure he won't be walking around long. So on the bright side, when he dies you can pretend it was due to a demand made by you for posturing. Though I wouldn't be surprised that he hasn't been lowered on the priority list purposely due to exactly how Pakistan has always treated US interest and action. Though the severity of it was debatable early on, Pakistan has been quite open about the "give us money and do the work too but not in the areas they will actually be found in or we'll call you meanies" mindset as of lately. They'll get around to your request eventually. But only because it always was going to happen at some point. It'll amount to claiming the credit of predicting the sun will rise tomorrow but I'm sure it won't stop you. You see, we don't pick and choose. You do.
Why these people no respect Pakistan's sovereignty? Pakistan should complain to UN and friendly countries!!!
Lashkar e Islam is nothing but a criminal gang which is also involved in sectarian terrorism. It must be eliminated; there are no 'reaction to US' theories applicable on this group
Pak Army has to learn from 80 years of experience of their mother British Indian Army! These people can not be suppressed through force, political solution is the best approach, bring zardari at front as he is a good negotiator will make a win-win deal for everyone!
I am glad that the Quick Reaction Force was able to engage these anti state criminals so quickly and effectively. The criminals are sent across from Afghanistan which is why the border should be mined and fenced so that foreign criminals working for anti state agencies can be dealt with more effectively. God bless the brave Pak soldiers who who can be counted on to protect the nation and giving the enemy what they deserve. Pakistan Zindabad.
It is a shame that nine of our brave soldiers died while attacked by the terrorists. Even greater shame is that some people still call it American war despite more than 35,000 of Pakistanis mostly civilians have been targeted and killed by these fanatic militants. Who is killing Pakistanis by tens of thousands?
“Terrorist groups usually come from the other side of the border and do some attacks,”
Thank you, anonymous utterly incompetent and corrupt Afghan official. You will leave no stone unterned to shift the blame. Afghanistan, where the world's most powerful armies are present is a hotbed for militants launching attacks on Pakistan. And then they have the nerve to tell us to do more! What a joke