By DPA
Islamabad : Eight people, including four policemen and a soldier, were killed in two separate attacks by pro-Taliban militants in restive north-west Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, officials said.
The four cops were killed Sunday when a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint in the Swat district of North West Frontier Province.
“Two policemen were also injured in the bombing,” said district police chief Mazharul Haq Kakakhel.
In a separate incident, a group of pro-Taliban militiamen fired several rockets at a security check post in Dattakhel area of tribal North Waziristan district.
This triggered an hour-long intense gun battle between the sides, which killed one soldier and injured three more. Two insurgents also died.
Islamic fighters have intensified attacks on security forces in Pakistan’s northwest region since early July when troops stormed Islamabad’s radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) to end a stand-off with hundreds of Islamists entrenched there for days. Over 100 people died in the assault.
The security situation has worsened particularly in North and South Waziristan where local fighters recently pulled out of peace treaties with the government, and carried out a series of well-organised raids on 90,000 troops deployed in the region.
The area is believed to be a hotbed of Al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban supporters who launch cross-border attacks at international forces in Afghanistan.