Six troops killed in prolonged militant attack in northwestern Pakistan

Six security personnel were killed and another six injured following an attack by militants on security forces in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on December 8, according to security sources, cited by Xinhua.

The attack took place around 1:30 p.m. local time (0830 GMT) in Kurram district, when militants opened fire on army personnel, the sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Security forces returned fire, and the firefight continued until 7:50 p.m. local time (1450 GMT).

Due to the intensity of the clash and the approaching darkness, the bodies of the slain personnel had not yet been recovered from the site. Meanwhile, the six injured soldiers were safely evacuated and transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Two Frontier Corps units were dispatched to reinforce the deployed troops, while artillery fire targeted suspected militant positions, the sources said. Preliminary reports suggest that two militants were killed and two others injured, though no bodies or wounded militants have yet been recovered.

Local elders have reportedly moved toward the scene to assist in retrieving the soldiers’ bodies.

By Tamilla Hasanova