LANDI KOTAL: Border forces in the Jarrobi area of Khyber tribal region foiled two suicide attacks on their camp on Friday, security officials said.

One of the suicide bombers was gunned down while the other detonated his suicide vest when challenged by the Frontier Corps soldiers manning the Mashtari camp near the Afghan border.

The officials said that two FC personnel, Wajid and Yahya, suffered injuries in the aborted twin blasts. The attackers could have caused devastation had they succeeded in entering the camp, officials said.

The injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar by an army helicopter while security around the camp and border areas was further tightened.

Military helicopters conducted the shelling of the surrounding areas soon after the incident. Jarrobi is close to the Afghan border in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal tehsil.

The Jamaatul Ahrar faction of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attempted attack.

Later, Inspector General of Frontier Corps Maj Gen Mazhar Shaheen Khattak visited the area where he was given a detailed briefing about border security. He remained there with the FC soldiers for some time before flying back to Peshawar.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2017