Helicopter_army_tribal_670_3

KHYBER AGENCY: At least ten suspected militants were killed and six others injured Monday when Pakistani gunship helicopters pounded suspected militant hideouts in Bara Tehsil of Pakistan’s restive Khyber tribal region, officials said.

The assault followed an earlier clash in the Akakhel area of Bara Tehsil which had left one soldier dead and three injured, the officials added.

According to the officials, armed militants ambushed a security convoy leading to a deadly clash between the militants and security forces. The clash resulted in the death of a soldier while thee others were wounded.

Following the clash, security forces assisted by gunship helicopters targeted militant hideouts in Akakhel area, killing ten militants and injuring six others, the official sources said.

Officials said security forces also destroyed four militant bases and claimed to have arrested 15 suspects as the offensive continued.

Meanwhile, another soldier was also killed in a road side bomb explosion in Tehsil Bara’s Shalobar area during a search operation, the officials added.

The reports could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to Pakistan’s remote tribal areas.

Khyber is among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives.