Five security personnel, including four from FC and one from Pakistan Army, were martyred while trying to save an aid convoy after militants attacked them in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday announced a fresh operation against militants in Kurram after five security personnel were martyred in multiple attacks.
The fresh wave of violence has threatened the fragile peace in the area, where a ceasefire agreement was signed last month after months of conflict that left about 130 people dead.
The Thal-Parachinar Road, the only land route connecting Upper Kurram to the rest of the country, has been closed to traffic due to the incessant attacks.
Since the ceasefire agreement was signed between the warring factions in Kurram earlier this year, aid has been being provided to the area through convoys accompanied by heavy security personnel.
Sources said that on Monday, the relief convoy headed to Parachinar entered Lower Kurram through Chapri Gate at noon.
The convoy was going on Thal Parachinar Road under the supervision of police and other security agencies when the attackers opened fire at Ochat Kali near Mandori in Lower Kurram around 12:30 pm.
Sources further said that the security personnel guarding the convoy retaliated and two army gunship helicopters shelled the areas around the incident site.
The intermittent firing continued for two hours. An army jawan was martyred in the attack while seven people including a policeman, two truck drivers and four civilians were injured.
According to sources, at the same place around 6 pm, when the forces tried to prevent the stranded relief trucks from looting, the terrorists launched a second attack.
The attackers opened fire on the vehicle of a Frontier Corps officer, resulting in five injuries, but one officer was unharmed in the attack.
Then, at around 8:30 pm, a convoy of the FC Quick Response Force, which was coming to evacuate injured soldiers in Ochat Kalay, was ambushed near the Government High School.
In the exchange of fire, 4 FC personnel were martyred while 3 vehicles were damaged. However, it was not clear how many militants were killed or injured in the operation.
Gul Faraz, a truck driver who was trapped after the attack, claimed that announcements were made on loudspeakers from mosques to attack the vehicles.
Another driver, Akram Khan, said that the convoy was attacked by locals, adding that several drivers are also missing since the attack.
Last month, an operation was launched to clear areas from militant control in various areas of central Kurram, including Mandori, Ochat, Charkhel, Chapri and Para.
The security forces also used helicopters to strike potential militant hideouts during the days-long operation.
Sources said the provincial government believes that some militants may still be present in the area.
Sources told Dawn that “militants in Upper and Lower Kurram intend to take advantage of the situation.”
They added that an alleged militant commander, identified as Kazim and a resident of Lower Kurram, “wants to sabotage the peace agreement at all costs.”
