Valley of unrest: 15 militants, one soldier killed in Tirah Valley clashes

Two peace volunteers die in bomb blast.

BARA:

At least 16 militants and one security official were killed in fierce fighting between security forces and militants in Tirah, Khyber Agency, on Thursday.

In another incident in the same area, two peace volunteers of Tauheedul Islam (TI) were killed, while 13 others were injured in a bomb blast in militant hideouts.

A security official said that the TI captured four hideouts of Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), in which three LeI militants were also held hostage by the TI.

He said that the clashes broke out when TI and security forces were engaged in a joint advance movement in the Jarobi area. Heavy artillery and weapons were used on both sides in which one security official was killed.

“We have killed 15 militants in the fight,” a security official claimed, while confirming that his colleague had also died. However, the death toll of the militants could not be verified.

Security forces claimed to have wrested control of the Narai Baba, Sandana and Nangrosa areas. The people displaced by the skirmishes in the Sipah area were moving towards Peshawar and other settled parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

On the other hand, the TI has captured four hideouts in Kata Kanray, Sardar Morcha, Toai, and Sanaper. As soon as they took control of the areas, TI volunteers rushed towards the hideouts where explosive material, which was already planted, went off, killing two of them on the spot and injuring 13 others. Seven among the injured were rushed to a hospital in Peshawar.

Security forces and TI in their bid to retake control of Sipah area torched 20 houses of militants.

Meanwhile, seven security officials were injured in a militant attack on a security check post in the Nalla area, while the security forces claimed to have repulsed the attack. Dozens of militants stormed the check post with heavy weapons.

Similarly, a child, Attaullah, was injured in a mortar shell attack on a house in Akka Khel in which two rooms were damaged.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2013.