More than 200 militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan early Thursday and attacked a border village with rockets, mortars and machine guns, killing five people and kidnapping more than 20, officials and residents said. The deadly raid underlines challenges ahead for the US and Pakistan when Washington begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan later this year.
Pakistan maintains that Nato already needs more troops along the Afghan side of the border. On Thursday, the military fought with the militants for roughly six hours, using helicopter gunships, said Sajid Khan, a senior government official in the Bajur tribal region. The dead included three women and two men, and eight others were wounded, he said.
The militants fled after the military brought in reinforcements and hit them with artillery fire, said local resident Asar Khan. But they kidnapped more than 20 tribesmen and took them along, he said. It was the second such raid in just two weeks, illustrating how militants can easily move across the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan has complained that Nato forces in Afghanistan are not doing enough to stem the flow of militants across the border, while the US says Pakistan's military must do more to stop fighters from streaming into Afghanistan.
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