By Israr Ahmad Orakzai
HANGU: Six people, including children, were killed and 18 others injured after militants fired mortar shells in the Darozi area near Hangu, officials and local sources said.
The attack took place about 30 kilometres from Hangu during the day, when mortar rounds were fired into the area, causing casualties among civilians. Local residents rushed to the scene and began rescue efforts, shifting the injured and the bodies to the district hospital.
Those critically wounded were later transferred to hospitals in Kohat and Peshawar for further treatment. The angry residents blocked the main road in protest, but the route was later reopened on the request of local elders.
Officials said clashes between police and militants had been ongoing in the Zargari mountains for the past two days prior to the attack. A jirga was under way at the time of the last reports, with a decision awaited.
