Wednesday, May 18 – A three hour clash resulted in death of two police officers and 15 insurgents after an important security checkpoint near the Pakistani city of Peshawar was attacked by around 100 militants.
According to Police officials, The midnight attack on the Sangu Mera checkpoint comes amid Taliban threats to avenge the May 2 US raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden near the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
But it is more likely tied to the Pakistani military’s offensives against militant groups in its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
According to Liaquat Ali Khan, a Senior Police Official, militants bore rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons when they attacked the security forces overnight. But eventually the insurgents were pushed back.
Security checkpoints are frequently attacked by militants in Pakistan – sometimes through suicide bombings and other times involving large numbers of insurgents such as Wednesday’s incident. The clashes are often linked to ongoing military offensives in the tribal belt.
In a similar incident on Tuesday in Quetta, the capital of restive southwestern Baluchistan province, Pakistani troops killed five attackers including three women after a firefight.
