KHYBER AGENCY: Four people were killed, including a soldier and two paramilitary troops, on Saturday when a bomb concealed in a plastic bag went off in Akakhel area of Maidan, Tirah Valley – the northwestern tribal area near the Afghan border. Law enforcers and local sources, while confirming the incident, said that the forces rushed to the site after being informed about a suspected package present in Dars Masjid area. They said that the soldiers were examining the parcel when it exploded, killing four persons on the spot. Khyber is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal areas where the army has for more than a decade been battling militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda. “As the security officials were inspecting the plastic bag, the bomb concealed in it went off, killing a solider, two paramilitary troops and a civilian,” a local administration said. “It was time bomb that was planted near the helipad,” said another source. The incident was confirmed by other local security officials. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Immediately after the incident, security officials rushed to the site of the blast, cordoned off the entire area and shifted the bodies to the forces’ health centre. The deceased were identified as Mehmmod Shah, Levies official Bagh Mir and two civilians, Qari s/o Gul Ghameen and Lal Jan s/o Khushal Khan. Evidence was collected from the site, after which the forces launched a massive search operation in the area to trace the culprits. Violence across Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents but the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest. The army launched an operation in June 2014 in neighbouring North Waziristan to wipe out militant bases in the tribal areas and end an insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. It may be mentioned here that on Friday, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa – during his visit to Parachinar – said that the Pakistani nation had rendered unprecedented sacrifices in the war against terrorism. “Our enemies shall never succeed to lower our resolve or to divide us,” the COAS said, adding that the Pakistan Army would continue its efforts to bring back normalcy to the country. Published in Daily Times, July 2nd , 2017.