Tribal unrest: Five peace volunteers killed in militant attack

Three bullet-riddled bodies found in Tirah, mortar shell attack injures one.

BARA:

Five Akka Khel peace militia volunteers were killed and four injured when militants stormed two check-posts in Bara on Saturday.

Spokesperson for the militia, Zar Wali, said that dozens of armed militants from Laskhkar-e-Islam (LI), a banned outfit led by Mangal Bagh, attacked the Pule Sarat check posts in Akka Khel at around 2am. He said the LI militants had managed to capture the check posts for about two hours but the peace militia volunteers repulsed the raid and recaptured the check-posts. Wali claimed that six militants had been killed in retaliation, including a militant commander, Pahlawan. Five volunteers of the militia, Hassan Khan, Khubaib Qambar Khel, Bakht Marjan, Qabit Khan and Sheri Khel, were killed in the attack and four were wounded. The injured were taken to hospitals in Peshawar.

Three bullet-riddled bodies found

Three bullet-riddled bodies were found in the Dari Shaga area of Tirah valley, Khyber Agency, on Saturday. Shahid Afridi, an official of the political administration said two of the deceased were from the Zakhakhel tribe while the third was from the Zayodin area. Two of the bodies were identified as Muhammad Alam, a resident of Nadir Khel and Shah Muhammad hailing from Zakha Khel. The third body was not yet identified.

In a separate incident, another tribesman from the Zakakhel tribe was injured when a mortar shell fired from an unknown location landed in his house in the Bukarh area of Landikotal. An official of the political administration said that Zafar, the owner of the house, was rushed to Agency Headquarters Hospital in Landikotal, adding that his condition was critical.

In a similar incident on Wednesday evening, one person was killed and his son injured when a stray mortar shell hit a house in the Sipah area of Bara.

Nato vehicle targeted

An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a NATO container at around 10am on Saturday, injuring the driver and damaging the vehicle. The container was transporting armoured vehicles for Nato forces when the bomb exploded in Shah Zaman Kallay, Jamurd.

Political administration official Asmatullah Wazir said that a convoy of 25 vehicles had been given security clearance at the Takhta Baig checkpoint and was headed towards Torkham Pak-Afghan border when the blast occurred. The driver of the vehicle that was hit, Naeem Shah, was injured as pieces of glass hit him, the official said. Wazir said the intensity of the explosion burst the tires of the vehicle.  Shah was taken to Jamrud Civil Hospital where doctors were able to treat him with first aid.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2012.