7 Pakistani policemen kidnapped, 8 militants killed in clashes in northwestern Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – At least seven Pakistani policemen have been abducted while eight suspected militants and a soldier have been killed in hours-long clashes in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Suspected militants kidnapped seven policemen in Bannu district, near the restive North Waziristan tribal region that was once the fiefdom of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a conglomerate of several militant outfits that have been fighting security forces and law enforcement for nearly 18 years.

Efforts to recover the kidnapped cops are underway, Bannu City Police chief Ziauddin Ahmed Ahmed reported over the phone while confirming the incident.

Since the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan has seen an uptick in terrorist attacks, mainly targeting its northwestern and southwestern regions over the past several months.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out in the restive Tirah valley of Khyber tribal district, which sits near the Afghanistan border, killing eight members of the so-called Lashkar-e-Islam militant group, including its top commander Ameer Tayyeb, a police official revealed, requesting not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Another five militants were also injured in the clashes, he added.

According to unconfirmed reports, eight police officers were killed in the clashes, but an official from the Deputy Commissioner Khyber’s office denied this.