11 soldiers, 24 militants killed in Mohmand

Security forces continue operations against militants in northwest regions of the country. PHOTO: EPA

Security forces on Friday killed 24 militants ?as they attempted to attack?checkposts in Mohmand Agency, officials have said. Eleven soldiers were killed in the clashes, officials said.

“About 150 Taliban militants attacked five Frontier Corps checkposts in Baidnami village near the border with Afghanistan,” a senior security official told AFP. “The attack was repulsed leaving 24 militants dead, and three of our men embraced martyrdom,”

Local administration officials in Ghalanai, the main town of Mohmand tribal district, and the paramilitary force confirmed the attack and casualties.

“Militants ran away, leaving behind dead bodies. Twelve soldiers were wounded in the fighting,” the official said.

Bodies of 10 militants have also been taken into custody, while gunship helicopters are?hovering in the area.

In a telephone call to AFP Taliban spokesman for Mohmand district Sajjad Mohmand claimed his fighters had killed 12 soldiers and captured a check post.

“We have killed 12 soldiers and occupied a check post,” Mohmand said.

He also said two paramilitary soldiers had been captured but security officials rejected the claim, saying no one was missing.

Mohmand district has seen much violence in the recent past. ?On December 6, twin suicide bombings killed 43 people in Ghalanai, about 175 kilometres (110 miles) northwest of Islamabad.

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Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan

A file photo of a Nato-led coalition soldier firing during an operation against militants. PHOTO: REUTERS

Two Nato soldiers and an Afghan government official were killed in separate attacks across the troubled country, authorities said Tuesday.

The latest deaths brought to 629 the number of foreign soldiers killed so far this year in the Afghan war, according to an AFP count.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said one soldier was killed in an insurgent attack on Monday in the country’s east, and another in the south by a bomb on Tuesday.

Their nationalities were not released and there were no further details.

Nato and the United States have more than 150,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan to fight the insurgency, led by Taliban militants who have stretched their presence to most parts of the country.

A district governor was killed in another Taliban-style bomb explosion in eastern Paktia province, on Tuesday, local authorities said. Shwak district chief, Ali Abad, was on his way to work when his vehicle?struck the device and was killed on the spot, provincial spokesman, Rohullah Samoon told AFP.

“The district chief was martyred in the blast,” Samoon said.

Home-made bombs or improvised explosive devices are weapons of choice for the Taliban and other militants.

International and Afghan forces are currently engaged in a major offensive around Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan, aimed at pushing out the insurgents to bring an end to the long war.

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