Security checkpost attacked, two officials killed in Lower Kurram Agency

The late night assault took place in Khapyanga, in which heavy weapons were used.

PESHAWAR: Several heavily armed militants stormed a security checkpost in Lower Kurram Agency, resulting in a clash which killed two security personnel and injured two others, while four militants were also killed in retaliation, officials said.

The attack took place late Sunday night in the village of Khapyanga, in which heavy weapons were used from both sides, a security official told The Express Tribune. “There were a large number of militants that assaulted the checkpost. Two of our security men were killed in the attack while two others were injured,” he stated.

Another security official from the area said that four militants were also killed. “The body of one of the militants was recovered from the site,” he added.

The assault continued for almost an hour, during which the militants managed to take away three of their comrades’ bodies. “The number of injured militants was unknown,” the official claimed.

Ravaged by war, Kurram Agency, bordering Afghanistan, has been plagued with sectarian violence for over a decade. The area is known as one of the most dangerous tribal territories because it shares a border with North Waziristan and Orakzai Agency, considered to be militant strongholds.

The security forces that have blocked the main transport route of the militants come under frequent attacks by the Taliban, who use the route to travel from one tribal area to another.