4 Pakistani troops killed, 12 wounded in Chitral clash

ATLANTA (Pajhwok): At least four Pakistani security personnel have been killed and 12 others wounded as a result of a clash in the Chitral valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Militants attacked two security check-posts in Astui Pass and Jinjiret Koh areas of Lower Chitral, near Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province, Pakistani media reported.

In a statement, ISPR said a “large group of terrorists equipped with the latest weapons attacked two Pakistani military posts located near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Kalash.”

It added: “Terrorists’ movement and concentration in Gawardesh, Pitigal, Barg-i-Matel and Batash areas of Nuristan and Kunar provinces had already picked up and were timely shared with the interim Afghan government and forces were on alert due to the threat of attack.”

The caretaker government of Afghanistan has not yet commented about the claim from the Pakistan side.

Last week, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said no one would be allowed to harm others from Afghan soil.

sa/mud