Bara Operation: Four killed in clash between militants, tribal militia

LI commander Sabeel Afridi denies that any clashes took place between his men and lashkar volunteers.

KHYBER AGENCY:

As operation by the security forces in Khyber Agency continued for the fifth consecutive day, four people were killed and five wounded in skirmishes between militants and a tribal militia (lashkar) in the Akka Khel area of Bara tehsil.

Thirty suspects were arrested for violating the curfew.

Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) militants attacked militia check posts which resulted in retaliatory fire, militia chief Haji Gul Miran Afridi told The Express Tribune.

Two LI militants were killed and three injured while two lashkar volunteers also lost their lives, he said, adding that militants in the area were under severe pressure and were facing difficulties in moving around and hence, were attacking security check posts.

LI commander Sabeel Afridi, however, denied that any clashes took place between his men and lashkar volunteers in the Akka Khel area.

Meanwhile two persons were reported dead, one from the tribal lashkar and the other from LI, in another clash in Daro Adda in the Bara Akka Khel area.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2011.