By Xinhua
Islamambad : Eighteen police personnel were missing following militants’ attack Tuesday night on a security check post in Pakistan’s northwest town of Bannu, an army spokesman said Wednesday.
“They were police, not paramilitary soldiers,” military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Xinhua over telephone.
Two policemen were also injured in the attack, Arshad said.
Earlier media reports suggested gunmen fired rockets on the check post and took away 19 security personnel.
No outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Kidnapping of security men has increased in Pakistan’s northwest frontier bordering Afghanistan since armed tribals in the troubled North Waziristan region in mid-July scrapped a peace deal they reached with the government last September.
The armed tribals, who prefer to be called “Pakistani Taliban”, accused the government of violating peace agreements by re-deploying troops in Waziristan region, which has seen worsening security situation since July.
In the kidnappings in August, the local tribal militants reportedly demanded a military pullout from the area and the release of their colleagues who were in authorities’ custody.