File Photo. Aref Karimi—AFP
Three policemen among casualties of militant attacks in Swat Valley.
At least five people, including three policemen, were killed on Wednesday in two militant clashes near Swat Valley, officials said.
In the first incident, gunmen ambushed a car of local pro-government fighters in the Kooza Bandi village of Swat Valley, killing three people including a police guard, according to district police chief Sher Akbar. Nobody claimed responsibility but Taliban militants have carried out such attacks in the past.
Pro-government militias rose up in reaction to the Taliban’s brutal rule of the Swat Valley between 2007-2009, when the militants grew unpopular for killing tribal elders, razing schools and kidnapping people for ransom.
Separately, up to six militants stormed a checkpoint in Dargai, which lies in the Malakand region neighboring Swat, killing two policemen, local officials said.
“Two security force personnel embraced martyrdom in an attack at the checkpoint,” said Fayyaz Khan, a local government official.