Three security personnel and five militants were killed and 16 people injured in a series of attacks carried out by rebels in Pakistan’s troubled northwest and the adjoining tribal belt on Sunday.
A security personnel was killed and two more were injured when militants attacked a check post in Matta, a former Taliban stronghold in the restive Swat valley. Two militants were killed in retaliatory firing by troops.
Security forces later cordoned off the area and launched a search operation for the attackers.
Three civilians and two security personnel were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up after his vehicle was stopped by security forces at a check post in Malakand area. A key road was closed after the incident and curfew imposed in the area.
As troops continued their search and clearance operations in Swat, seven militants were captured from different parts of the valley. Five militants also surrendered to the security forces at Bar Shaur.
Three persons were injured in a roadside blast in the Salarzai area of Bajaur tribal region. Another blast occurred in the Mamoond sub-division of Bajaur Agency though there were no casualties. A security personnel was also injured in clashes with militants in Bajaur Agency, according to reports.
Two security personnel were killed and three others, including a major, were injured when a Frontier Corps convoy was targeted with an improvised explosive device at Bara in the Khyber tribal region early this morning.
Soon after the blast, security forces cordoned off the area and arrested 10 suspects during a search operation. Three suspected militants, including an Afghan fighter, were killed in an exchange of fire. The violence caused tension in the area.
Two policemen were injured when militants fired rockets at a police van at Swabi in the North West Frontier Province. Police exchanged fire with the fire before cordoning off the area and launching a search operation.
