Eight killed, 18 injured in unrest in northwest

Militants fire rockets in Bara market in Khyber Agency, twin truck bombings claim 8 lives in Kohat.

PAKISTAN: Four people were injured as militants fired rockets in the Bara market of Khyber Agency on Saturday.

Security sources say that militants fired three rockets near the press club in Bara market which injured four people including a security person. The injured have been shifted to a local hospital in Peshawar.

The security forces have cordoned off the area and a search operation in the region has been initiated.

Earlier last night (Friday), at least eight people including two women were killed and 14 others wounded in twin truck bombings that targeted a key road tunnel in Kohat.

The attacks took place late Friday night in and outside the tunnel which connects the main city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the city of Kohat.

In the first attack, "an explosive-laden truck entered the tunnel and blew up, badly damaging another truck behind it, wounding five people," top administration official in Kohat, Shahidullah, told AFP.

Security officials said the attack aimed to damage the Japanese-built tunnel, which had been recently reopened to 24-hour vehicle traffic after being open during the day only because of the risk of militant attacks.

Shahidullah said that in the second incident, an oil tanker packed with explosives hit a joint paramilitary Frontier Corps and army checkpoint outside the tunnel.

"The checkpoint was empty but four civilians, including two women who were travelling in a passenger van behind the tanker, were killed and 14 others wounded in the attack," he added.

The checkpoint is located in the lawless tribal town of Darra Adam Khel, which is known for its weapons bazaar and illegal arms factories.

A local police spokesman confirmed the two attacks and casualties, and said that at least 500 kilograms of explosives were used in the first attack.

He said that the security forces cordoned off the tunnel immediately after the incidents and closed it to traffic.

Pakistan's northwest and tribal areas have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters sought refuge there after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The government has claimed a number of military successes against the militant hardliners during the last two years, but attacks continue across the country and are concentrated in the northwest.