Twenty-two people were killed in a suicide kaboom targeting a mosque after Friday prayers in the Tirah valley, while at least 10 soldiers and 23 forces of Evil died in an earlier clash around 10 kilometres away (six miles).
Fifteen forces of Evil were also killed when Pakistain fighter jets blitzed various suspected turban hideouts in the
Orakzai Agency... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
.
Kyhber is a haven for forces of Evil linked to the Pak Taliban and the threat of renewed fighting there between the army and bully boyz prompted some 18,000 people to flee their homes in October last year.
Local administration official Jamilur Rehman told AFP that the suicide kaboom
killed at least 22 people and maimed more than 20 others, adding the toll may rise."The bomber let 'er rip near the gate of a mosque in Tirah valley of Khyber tribal region when people were returning from the prayers," he said.
The mosque is located in an area controlled by warlord Mangal Bagh
...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency
..., he said, adding that most of the dead were from his Lashkar-e-Islam --a group widely linked to forces of Evil and criminal gangs.
The attack and the toll was confirmed by Khyber administration chief Mutahir Zeb Khan.
"It was a suicide attack. The bomber went kaboom!" at the entrance of the mosque when the worshippers were returning after the Friday prayers," he said.
ARMY-MILITANTS CLASH:
Khan earlier said at least 10 Pak soldiers and 23 forces of Evil were killed in a shootout in the Tirah valley.
"At least 10 soldiers embraced martyrdom and three others were maimed," a security bigshot told AFP, adding that the fighting lasted for nearly six hours.
"All law enforcement agencies' posts in the area were intact and the situation was stable," the official said, blaming the Lashkar-e-Islam group for attacking the outpost.
Military officials in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar confirmed the attack and casualties, but it was not possible to independently verify the official account of the incident as access to the area is restricted.
ORAKZAI OPERATION
Separately, fifteen forces of Evil were killed and 10 others maimed when Pakistain fighter jets blitzed various suspected turban hideouts in the Orakzai Agency.
Five suspected hideouts were destroyed in the operation in Akhunkot and Balras areas, said official sources.
PESHAWAR:
Gunmen on
cycle of violences Friday rubbed out an intelligence official in Peshawar, police said.Bashir Khan, a 38-year-old Intelligence Bureau inspector, was on his way to work on his cycle of violence when gunnies also riding a motorbike shot him, senior police official Tahir Ayub told AFP.
Ayub said it was not immediately clear who shot Khan.