KHAR, July 29: Paramilitary forces on Tuesday pounded by artillery positions of militants who had occupied a PTV relay centre in the Kohi Ser area of Bajaur on Monday night.

Local people said a teenage girl was killed in the shelling.

About 70 militants took over the PTV centre and a nearby post of the Levies and raised their black flags at both the places.

A jirga sent by the political authorities failed to persuade the militants to vacate the centre which had been out of order for a few months.

The Frontier Corps (FC) fired artillery from the Bajaur Scouts’ headquarters to dislodge the militants.

Militants had earlier turned four government schools in the area into seminaries and a veterinary centre into Taliban’s liaison office.

Residential areas in the Barang tehsil also came under fire and some local people protested that the security forces had targeted their houses, instead of the militants.