Taleban rebels stormed Gwar Pari post in Mohmand tribal district on Sunday and claimed that seven paramilitary soldiers were killed, a security official said. “The post, located very close to the border, was manned by 65 soldiers and so far 11 have established contacts with us,” he said adding that the “others remained unaccounted for.”
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, spokesman for the Pakistan Army, confirmed the Monday attack and said 40 Frontier Corps troops were missing after Afghan Taleban overran the post on the border between the Mohmand and Bajaur agencies, 1 km from the Afghan border.
Afghan authorities said 10 Pakistani soldiers, one of them wounded, had entered Kunar province over the past few days. “We handed them to the Pakistan Consulate in Jalalabad,” Afghan border police commander Mohammad Afzal said.
A local administration official said around 54 soldiers were believed to be missing. Of the 65 troops manning the post, 11 had returned and 54 were still missing the official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.
Security officials in the mountainous region said up to 65 soldiers were missing. “Eleven of them have reported to the base while 10 crossed into Afghanistan accidentally and are now in the custody of Afghan forces,” a security official in Mohmand, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Reports from the area differed and reflected the isolation of the area and inability to get reliable information.
