Two killed in Kurram landmine blast

Six others sustained injuries.

KURRAM AGENCY:

At least two people were killed in a landmine blast in Kurram Agency while six sustained serious injuries.

The landmine exploded when a car passed by in the Landi area. The eight people riding the car were immediately rushed to Sadda hospital, where two were pronounced dead.

In a separate incident, eight people were kidnapped in a carjacking incident in the Tendo area of Kurram agency.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas have been struck 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 hardliners over the past two years, but attacks continue across the country and are concentrated in the northwest.

Pakistan launched its most ambitious military offensive yet against Taliban militants in South Waziristan in 2009.