PARACHINAR: Twenty-three militants and two security personnel were killed and five others were injured in a clash in northwest Pakistan’s Kurram tribal region on early Saturday.

According to security forces, following the clash in central Kurram, security forces bombed militant positions, killing 23 insurgents. A number of hideouts were also destroyed in the action.

A military operation has been ongoing in central Kurram for past three weeks.

Kurram, which is close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, is one of the seven regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), governed by tribal laws. An extremist insurgency led by the Pakistani Taliban plagues the region while the area is known to be infested with militants, including those from Al Qaeda, Taliban and several other armed extremist organisations.