Afghan Militants Attack Pakistan Villages, Killing Six Civilians

20 Others Missing After Cross-Border Raids

Some 300 members of a militant group from Afghanistan’s Kunar Province, identified in some reports as the Afghan Taliban, crossed the border into the Bajaur Agency of Paksitan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas today, attacking three villages along the border.

At least six civilians were reported killed in the attacks and a number of others were reported wounded. 20 other tribesmen are missing and believed to have been captured by the militants, who fled back into Afghanistan.

Locals say the militants crossed through the Manro jungle, and that they fought for several hours before fleeing in the face of a tribal militia reinforced by a small number of Frontier Corps troops at nearby checkpoints.

It is the second such raid of the month, with a similar number of militants crossing from Kunar into Upper Dir, attacking a village there and killing 72. That raid was carried out by the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)’s Malakand faction, which has been operating in Kunar since 2009.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.