MIRAMSHAH, Jan 15: Four people were injured when security forces opened fire on tribesmen in Kushali Turikhel area of North Waziristan on Sunday, sources said. They said that local residents came under attack when they were collecting usable articles from the rubble of their houses demolished by the army and paramilitary forces.

The injured, including a woman and a child, were taken to a hospital.

The troops had earlier demolished the houses of eight tribesmen in the region under the collective responsibility act of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

The authorities have started demolishing houses in different parts of Mirali tehsil in retaliation for attacks and killing of troops.

Meanwhile, militants attacked a paramilitary check-post near Miramshah on Saturday night.

Officials said that unidentified attackers fired rockets at the Amin check-post at around 10.15pm. Paramilitary troops returned the fire on suspected positions. No casualty was reported.

AFP adds: A security official seeking anonymity told AFP that five rockets had been fired at the check-post and added that the ensuing fire-fight lasted more than 90 minutes.

Residents said that the crossfire damaged some houses in nearby Darpakhel village creating panic with several families fleeing to relatives in nearby villages.

Separately, about five rockets exploded late Saturday in the border town of Lawara Mandi, the official said.

Residents in Lawara Mandi, which faces Afghanistan’s Paktika province, said they heard gunfire on the Afghan side before rockets landed.