Militancy in Khyber: Four killed in clashes between extremists

Fighting reportedly started between Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) and Tauheed-ul-Islam.

JAMRUD:

In fresh clashes between two extremist groups, four fighters were killed and five injured in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Wednesday, a local administration official said.

Akbar Khan, the administration official for Bara, told Express News that the fighting started between Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) and Tauheed-ul-Islam (TuI) in the Mastak village Wednesday evening. He added that the TuI group also detained six LeI fighters. Tirah Valley is situated 100 kilometres west of Peshawar along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The local Zakhakhel clan has raised the TuI group to fight off Lashkar-e-Islam, a banned extremist group led by its notorious commander Mangal Bagh Afridi. According to political authorities, LeI fighters triggered the clash by attacking the bunkers of TuI fighters who retaliated. Local resident Hukhiar Shah says that four different sectarian groups have been fighting each other for control of Tirah Valley.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2011.