Two troops, 6 militants killed in cross-border fire in Khyber area

peshawar — At least two Pakistani security personnel were killed in cross-border fire from Afghanistan on Friday, the military said, when gunmen attacked a checkpoint near the frontier in the troubled northwest.

The attack in Khyber Agency was claimed by terrorist Jamaatul-Ahrar (JuA), a faction of the outlawed Pakistani Taleban, and came at a time of heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Terrorists from across the PakBdr attempted physical attack on Pak FC (Frontier Constabulary) Post in Khyber Agency,” said a military statement, adding that six militants were also killed in the exchange of fire.

Islamabad blames Kabul for hosting JuA and other terrorists responsible for carrying out a wave of attacks in February that killed 130 people across the country and prompted fears of a militant resurgence. Afghanistan also routinely accuses Pakistan of providing safe haven to the Afghan Taleban. Earlier on Friday, Pakistani troops also fought two suicide bombers trying to enter an FC training centre in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Suhail Khalid, police chief in Charsadda district, said that the suicide bombers first opened fire at the main gate and then tried to enter the training camp.

“One bomber blew himself up, while second was shot dead,” Khalid said. One FC soldier was killed and a second injured, according to a military statement.

Charsadda was among the places targeted in last month’s attacks, with three people killed and 19 injured when multiple suicide bombers attempted to enter a court complex on February 21.

Pakistani security forces have been on high alert since February’s attacks, which also included a suicide blast at a Sufi shrine that killed 90 people and was claimed by the Middle East-based terrorist group Daesh.

The terrorist attacks dented optimism after the country appeared to be making strong gains in its decade-and-a-half long war on militancy.

Later on Friday, the military said it had launched airstrikes in the Khyber region the previous night after receiving intelligence about the presence of a local militant leader, Mangal Bagh. Several suspects were killed, it added, providing no further details. It did not elaborate on the fate of Bagh, who has escaped such airstrikes in recent years. — AFP, AP