Clashes leave nine soldiers, 14 Taliban dead in Pakistan

Oct 17, 2011, 15:17 GMT

Peshawar- At least nine paramilitary soldiers and 14 Islamist militants were killed Monday in clashes between the sides in Pakistan's north-western region along the Afghan border, security officials said.

The fighting took place in the Bara area of Khyber, one of the seven tribal districts where the Taliban and al-Qaeda have their bases.

'More than two dozen terrorists attacked our check post this afternoon,' said a senior security official with Frontier Corps paramilitary force.

'This ensued a battle that left our nine soldiers martyred and 14 terrorists killed,' added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Separately, two gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a car carrying a pro-government tribal elder in the Doda area of Kohat, a district in the militancy-plagued north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing the elder and four other people.

'Azizur Rehman was the leader of the peace committee in Orakzai,' said an intelligence official.

'Peace committee' is the name of the tribal militias that are fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in their areas. Orakzai is also a tribal district where government forces are fighting Islamist extremists.