7 security personnel, 18 militants killed in lower Kurram

Three security personnel injured, seven missing after clashes in the Shaheedano Dhand area.

PESHAWAR: Seven security personnel and 18 militants were killed in an attack in the Shaheedano Dhand area of lower Kurram Agency, officials said on Friday. The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have claimed responsibility for the attack.

A senior official confirmed that three security personnel had also been injured and seven had gone missing.

“The shootout took place in lower Kurram, right on the border with North Waziristan,” the official said.

The area is a rugged mountainous terrain, where security officials have been trying to block the route used by militants to move from one tribal area to another.

This is the second attack in Kurram in less than a week. Earlier, at least eight security personnel and 35 militants were killed in an attack on a newly established security post in central Kurram.

The heights of Kurram are of strategic importance because of their natural connectivity from Tirah valley of Khyber to North Waziristan.

Shelling in upper Orakzai

Security forces carried out shelling in the Kaago, Qamar and Tor Simat area, killing six militants and destroying two hideouts, official sources said.