Accidental explosion?: Seven militants killed, four injured in blast

HANGU:

Seven militants were killed and another four injured in an explosion at a compound in Upper Orakzai Agency early morning on Wednesday.

A security official confirmed that seven militants of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Orakzai chapter were killed in the blast that occurred at around 3:00am in Jandri Kallay area, near the boundary of Central Kurram Agency. The official did not comment on the reason behind the blast, but some speculated the explosives were accidentally detonated by the militants themselves.

According to tribesmen, the militants belonged to the Saifur group of TTP and were hiding in the area due to the ongoing military operation in Mamozai.

An eyewitness said locals rushed to site to help move the deceased, but militants from Gul Zaman and Saifur groups reached the site and shifted the bodies along with the injured to an undisclosed location amidst the mountains in Momozai.He added that four rooms of the house where the blast took place were destroyed and seven bodies could be seen lying on the ground.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2013.