Militants opened fire on Pakistani villagers on Dec. 13‚ killing at least five civilians and wounding another six‚ before fleeing to safety in the tribal badlands bordering Afghanistan‚ government officials said.
The attack took place in the Shalobar area of Khyber‚ part of Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt where the military is fighting homegrown militants‚ led by warlord Mangal Bagh.
“Five villagers were killed and six were injured‚” Syed Ahmad Jan‚ a senior government official in Khyber said. “Militants came in a pick-up and fired on the villagers who were standing on the side of the road‚” Jan added.
An intelligence official in Khyber said the villagers were helping the Frontier Corps (FC) dislodge militants‚ confirming that paramilitary troops had launched a search operation in the area on Dec. 13.
Elsewhere in Shalobar‚ seven people‚ including two children and three women‚ were wounded when a mortar shell slammed into their home‚ Jan said.
Al Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds in Pakistan’s tribal belt‚ also a rear base for Taliban fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
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