Tit-for tat: Eight dead in Khyber Agency clashes

BARA: Clashes between militants and pro-government vigilantes left eight people dead and four injured in various areas of the Khyber Agency on Thursday. Pro-government militia Tauheed-ul-Islam (TuI) gunned down five members of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Islam (LI). In a separate incident LI fighters shot dead three TuL men and injured four. The first showdown happened on high noon in the restive Tirah Valley’s Zakakhel area. TuI members ambushed an LI team killing five, including an important commander Spinbat Khan, local officials confirmed. The LI militants in return cornered a group of TuI men in Nari Baba area of the agency, as a result of which seven members of the pro-government militia were injured, local sources said. Among the seven, three succumbed to their injuries, they said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2014.