Taliban incursion in the North-West
At least 75 dead in the attack

ISLAMABAD – At least 75 people were killed in very serious clashes between Pakistani security forces and about 300 Afghan Taliban who attacked several villages in the tribal district of Upper Dir, in northwestern Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan. This

was announced by Ary Tv. Local sources report that the dynamics of the attack, which took place yesterday, is difficult to reconstruct because the telephone communications with the villages targeted by the insurgents were immediately interrupted. However, the broadcaster claims to have learned that the Taliban from the Afghan province of Kunar killed at least 35 members of Pakistani security, but lost 40 men in the counteroffensive.

According to the local police chief, Shaltalu, a remote village located between the mountains and forests of the district of Alto Dir a few kilometers from the border with Afghanistan, was surrounded for over 24 hours by 500 Taliban who then attacked a location of security forces. Among the victims also various civilians, including three women and two children, killed by mortar rounds fired by the rebels and killed on a dozen homes.

Two years ago, the area was the scene of a vast governmental offensive against former Koranic students.

(02 June 2011)