KHYBER: Three persons, including two children, were injured when a mortar shell hit a house in the Shadala area of Akkakhel in Tirah Valley on Wednesday.

Sources said that security forces and terrorists traded fire, with the cross-fire continuing since Tuesday. They said that security forces targeted terrorist hideouts with artillery, while terrorists used quadcopters and rocket launchers.

A number of houses were reportedly damaged in the exchange of fire, while several artillery shells and other projectiles landed in agricultural fields and deserted places.

The mortar attack left three persons injured in a house in Zameeni Chowk locality near the border with Orakzai district.

It could not be immediately ascertained as to who fired the mortar or whether it was a quadcopter strike. The injured were shifted to a health centre.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2026