Militants unleash carnage in Pakistan, kill 19 troops in deadly attacks

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnesses fierce gunfights, a suicide bombing, and mortar fire as militants attack, leaving widespread damage and sparking calls for peace

At least 19 Pakistani security personnel were killed in two separate incidents in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the past few days, involving intense clashes with militants in the Tirah valley over the weekend and a suicide attack near the Mali Khel checkpoint in the Bannu district on Tuesday, Pakistani publication Dawn reported on Wednesday.

 

According to the report, official sources stated that eight security personnel were killed and three injured during fierce gun battles with militants over the weekend in the Tirah valley. The report noted, however, that the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the public relations wing of the Pakistani armed forces, did not confirm the death toll. Meanwhile, an AFP news agency report stated that nine militants were also killed in the confrontation. The clashes reportedly erupted after armed gunmen attacked a military camp near the Bagh-Maidan Markaz.

 

 

Shops in Tirah reopened on Tuesday after two days of gunfights, with local traders reportedly staging a demonstration demanding peace and compensation for damages caused by mortar shelling on Sunday evening. 

 

In a separate incident on Tuesday, 11 Pakistani security personnel were killed in a suicide attack near the Mali Khel checkpoint in the Janikhel area of Bannu, said the Dawn report. Citing sources, the report said that two others were critically injured. Following the explosion, armed militants also launched an assault, leading to a gunfight with security forces.

 

The report noted that the Bannu district has witnessed increasing militant violence recently. On Tuesday, over half a dozen policemen, who had been abducted from a checkpoint near the North Waziristan border, were recovered safely by local police, with help from tribal elders.

 

Earlier, unknown assailants had also reportedly targeted an under-construction building of a girls' primary school in the Shah Najeeb Landidak Naikum Kallay area, while late last month, three security personnel, including an army major, were killed in a shootout in the Bakka Khel area. 

 

According to the report, a peace jirga (assembly of leaders) in the region has called for serious efforts to restore peace and take action against armed groups, which locals claim dominate the roads in the absence of effective law enforcement.