Crossing borders: Suspected militant killed, 11 held

LANDIKOTAL: A suspected militant was killed and 11 others were injured in an encounter with security forces in Tash Khel in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency during the early hours of Sunday. Security forces official Khan Pasand said the shoot-out took place around 1am. He said the suspected militants were traveling in a vehicle in Karigar when security forces opened fire at them to stop their advance towards the border. The militants retaliated and some managed to flee during the resulting gun battle. Afterwards, security forces searched the area and found the body of a militant. Personnel of the forces wounded in the encounter were taken to a nearby security forces camp. The official said the deceased suspect was identified as Gul Wazir, an Afghan national, while a gun was also recovered from the car in which his body was lying. On May 4, four suspected militants were killed and two injured in a clash during a search operation by security forces on the outskirts of Mingora, Swat.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2014.