Cross-border fire: Stray mortars from Afghanistan kill two in Chitral

Three militants killed in clashes with pro-govt militia in Khyber Agency

CHITRAL: Two civilians were killed on Saturday when mortar shells fired during a clash between militants and Afghan security forces landed in a border village of Chitral district.

Police official Akram Khan said the clash started when militants attacked the Afghan security forces in the Afghan village of Dhok Alum, located on the Pak-Afghan border near Chitral. Both sides used light and heavy weapons against each other, he added.

“During the clash, some mortar shells landed in the Arandu area of Chitral, injuring two civilians – Madiha and Hazrat Ali,” he said. The injured were immediately driven to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Darosh where they succumbed to their injuries, another official reported.

A police official said the Arandu police station and its surrounding areas were also hit by firing. No casualties were reported, though.

Arandu village, known as a gateway to Afghanistan, shares a border with the northeastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. Taliban militants have their hideouts on both sides of the Durand Line.

Over in Khyber Agency where a security operation has been ongoing since mid-Oct, three militants from Lashkar-e-Islam extremist group were killed and two injured in clashes with volunteers of pro-government Tauheedul Islam militia.

An official of the political administration said fighting has been ongoing between the two sides in Bara subdivision for the last three days. On Saturday, Tauheedul Islam volunteers attacked LeI hideouts in the remote Sanda Pal area of Tirah Valley, killing three militants and injuring another two.

Separately, a tribesman was injured when a mortar shell fired from an unknown location slammed into his vehicle in Sapas Mandi area of Bara.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2014.