Spiralling unrest: 8 FC troops killed in Khyber ambush

Four attackers killed, three arrested in retaliatory action.

PESHAWAR/ JAMRUD:

Eight paramilitary troops were killed in an attack on a convoy of the security forces in Khyber Agency’s Jamrud tehsil on the night between Thursday and Friday. In a retaliatory action, four militants were also killed and three arrested.

The convoy of the Frontier Corps (FC) was en route to the Sakhi Pul area from Jamrud tehsil. When it reached the confluence of the administrative boundaries of Maki Khel and Mastan Khel, militants ambushed it, security officials said. As a result, eight paramilitary troops were killed and one was wounded.

The paramilitary forces mounted a counter attack, killing four attackers and forcing the rest to flee, the officials said, adding that three attackers were captured after they were incapacitated by the injuries they received in the clash.

Local political administration official Irshad Khan said the militants used heavy weapons in the attack, which led to the

destruction of two FC vehicles. The area reverberated with heavy gunfire and loud explosions, sowing fear and panic among the residents.

The paramilitary troops deployed in the mountainous Ghundai area engaged the attackers before reinforcements were called in from nearby Pump House and Nehar check posts.

The official said the security forces rushed to the site and shifted the bodies of the paramilitary personnel to the CMH in Peshawar. The security forces imposed a curfew in the Ghundai area and launched a search operation. Around 250 tribesmen were detained and shifted to the FC fort for questioning.

The slain paramilitary officials have been identified as Naib Subedar Taj Malook, Lance Naik Nusrat Ali, Kashif Khan, Irfan, Hizar Khan, Juma Khan, Siraj Khan and Muhammad Khan, while the injured FC soldier has been identified as Hajat Ali. The bodies were sent to the hometowns of the victims for burial.

In other violence, four policemen were killed in separate attacks in Peshawar on Friday. Suspects travelling in a Toyota Corolla opened fire on a Pishtakhara police mobile van on Ring Road near Landi Adkun Ahmad, killing three policemen.

The policemen were attacked when they pulled over their van to a roadside hotel for an iftar break. Two policemen – ASI Noor Muhammad Khan and driver Baz Muhammad – died instantly while constables Mushtaq and Javed, and the hotel’s security guard Multan Khan were left seriously injured.

The deceased and the injured were rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital. Constable Javed struggled for his life for an hour before succumbing to his wounds.

In another incident, a 2kg bomb exploded near a Superior Science police mobile, killing head constable Javed Khan and injuring three other officers inside the vehicle. Separately, the bomb disposal unit defused a 6kg remote-controlled bomb in Masho Khel, Badhaber on Friday. According to the police, the device was planted along to target police or security forces’ vehicles.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2014.