Summary Lashkar-e-Islam militants attack Arjali and 3 other check posts in Shalobar area of Khyber.
PESHAWAR: Militant attacks on Arjali and three other check posts in Shalobar area of Khyber tribal regions Bara Tehsil claimed the lives of six security personnel and injured 28 others.
According to sources, four FC and two Khasadar personnel died during the night-long skirmishes.
The militants attacked with heavy weapons causing major structural damage to one of the check posts.
The number of militant attackers and their casualties’ figures could not be confirmed till the filing of this report.
The attack took place at check posts re-established recently in the area, dominated by Mangal Bagh’s Lashkar-i-Islam group, after a gap of three years.
At least 12 Pakistani security personnel have been killed in clashes and a landmine explosion in the two regions of the country most troubled by insurgents, officials said Tuesday.
In the northwestern tribal belt, officials said dozens of militants attacked a checkpoint overnight, sparking clashes that killed six security personnel and four militants.
The fighting broke out in the northwestern Khyber district, where troops are frequently locked in clashes with homegrown Islamist militia Lashkar-e-Islam.
Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds in the semi-autonomous tribal belt to plot attacks on Pakistani, Afghan and Western targets.
"Around 100 militants attacked a Frontier Corps checkpost in the Shalobar area of Bara in Khyber tribal region on Monday night, which triggered a firefight," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Officials said four paramilitary soldiers and two tribal policemen were killed, and 16 other personnel were wounded.
The area is cut off to journalists and aid workers so it was not possible to confirm the death toll independently.
A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Islam said it carried out the attack but denied that any of its fighters were killed.
"We took four soldiers hostage as well. There was no loss of life on our side in the clashes," said spokesman Abur Rasheed Lashkari in a text message.
