Security forces kill seven militants in Chitral

Security forces kill seven militants in Chitral

At least seven militants were killed and five security personnel injured as a clash broke out after the Taliban militants from across the border attacked a security checkpoint in Chitral district.

Commandant Chitral Scouts Colonel Nasir Jadoon told media that Taliban militants targeted a border post of Chitral Scouts at Ursoon area with mortar shells from Nooristan province of Afghanistan.

Five Jawans of Chitral scouts injured in the gun battle, he informed the soldiers immediately returned fire after the attack and killed seven of the attackers.

Col. Jadoon said the five injured soldiers have been airlifted to a hospital in Timergara in Dir lower district.

It was the latest in a series of recent cross-border assaults from Afghanistan’s Pech Valley and the provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, all areas from which U.S. troops began pulling out earlier this year as part of a strategy designed
to bolster security in more populated areas of Afghanistan.

The Pakistani forces returned fired into Afghanistan, killing seven militants, Jadoon said.

In the same border region in August, at least 25 Pakistani security personnel were killed when between 200 and 300 militants attacked border posts along Pakistan’s border with Agfhanistan. Those who died included Pakistani soldiers
and police.

Pakistani military officials have said the withdrawal of U.S. troops has provided insurgents in the mountainous areas of eastern Afghanistan with safe havens to launch cross-border attacks against Pakistani security forces.

The attacks have raised tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with each country accusing the other of not doing enough to secure its border region.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=5462

Posted by Sonia Bashir on Dec 3 2011. Filed under National. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry