BARA: Three girls were killed in a roadside explosion while bodies of three suspected militants were found in the Sepah area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency on Saturday, official and tribal sources said.
The sources said that members of a family were walking on the roadside in Mandikas area of Sepah when a girl stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED), which resulted in a powerful explosion.
Three girls identified as daughters of Sherullah, Yaras Khan and Yarullah were killed on the spot while two others sustained minor injuries. The IEDs are often used by militants as an effective tool to hit convoy of the security forces in the tribal areas.
Meanwhile, bodies of three suspected militants were found near Bachi Nehar in Sheikhabad area populated by the Sepah Afridi tribe in Bara tehsil on Saturday evening, the local sources said. They added that the faces and bodies of the slain carried bullets marks and were beyond recognition. Earlier, the security forces conducted search operation in various areas of Sepah and arrested 130 suspected persons and shifted them to the nearby Fort Salop camp for initial investigation. The sources said that around 300 suspects had been arrested by the security forces during the search operation over the past five days in Sepah area.