Three FC personnel also injured, as militants attack check post late on Monday night. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Over six months after it was struck by US warplanes, the Salala border post came under attack again on Monday – this time from Taliban insurgents.
Hordes of militants, armed with heavy weapons, attacked the Salala post, in the Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency, late Monday night, security officials told The Express Tribune.
Officials put the number of attackers in the hundreds and said they had crossed over from neighbouring militant-infested provinces of Afghanistan.
One paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the attack, said a Peshawar-based security official. In the retaliatory action from paramilitary troops, several attackers were also killed, he added. “I cannot give you the exact figure – but several militants were killed.”
Other official sources put the number of dead militants at 20 – a claim which could not be independently verified.
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack and gave an exaggerated death toll.
TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan told journalists in a telephone call from an undisclosed location that the security forces suffered “several casualties” in the attack.
He claimed that only one of their colleagues was killed and another injured in the attack.
Mohmand Agency’s political agent and military officials visited the Salala post, situated high in the mountains along the border with Afghanistan.
They praised the paramilitary troops for defending the post against the Taliban insurgents.
It is the same post which was struck in a Nato air raid in November last year. Over two dozen Pakistani border guards were killed in the air strike that plunged Pakistan-US relations to their lowest ebb.
As a punishment, Islamabad had closed the Nato supply routes which remain blocked since.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2012.
Will Pakistan/Pakistani Establishment block the militants supply routes ?
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So when will Pakistan demand an apology from TTP? On another point, it is getting clearer and clearer that ISAF withdrawl from Afghanistan will be the beginning of extreme troubles for Pakistan as afghan and pakistani talibans will join forces to topple pakistani and afghani goverments. Unless pak army learns some lesson to stop playing with fire and fight ALL taliban equally, 35000 dead pakistani will seem like a small number to us in the post-2014 world.
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it shows who are behind the ttp. american masters and ttp slaves are upto destroy pakistan.Recommend
As the photo depicts, all outposts henceforth must hang a white flag at the front gate. That will stop all future attacks.
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Question : why did the militants attack the Salala post. Looks like an organized attack with purpose.
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Musharaff had done deals with the same bunch; Imran Khan want to extend his support and withdraw troops from the area, yet Pakistan will say TTP is supported by Americans or the Indians. How interesting.
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Why militants are coming from Afghan side? We constantly get chided for not doing more against Taliban, then why is everyone quite over this? From this incident it is seem militancy is a two way street.US or Afghanistan doesnt have lot of moral standing when they criticise us.
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