KHAR, Oct 13: At least 18 militants were killed and 12 others injured in clashes with security forces and a tribal Lashkar in the Charmang area of the troubled Bajaur tribal region on Monday.

Troops used mortars and other heavy weapons to pound militants’ positions in Chinar, Tangi, Kotki and Nawa areas of Charmang tehsil. Witnesses said that helicopter gunships were in action throughout the day.

Officials said that 15 militants were killed and 12 injured in the shelling. They said that the casualty figure might rise because some important hideouts had been attacked and destroyed.

The tribal Lashkar, meanwhile, continued its campaign in Charmang tehsil to flush out Taliban militants.

Sources said that the Lashkar killed three militants during a clash and also burnt down houses of three militants in the tehsil.

Another Lashkar comprising volunteers of Mamond tribes continued its search for Taliban and destroyed four houses in Mamond tehsil.

The security forces also carried out an extensive search in Khar tehsil.

The sources said that the political administration had arrested 60 people, including some Afghans, under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) in Mamond tehsil.

Abdul Sami Paracha adds from Kohat: Local Taliban have denied a claim by security forces of killing 27 militants in a helicopter attack in Orakzai Agency on Sunday.

A Taliban spokesman also rejected the official claim of killing 12 suicide bombers. He, however, admitted that the house of Maulvi Abdul Salam had been destroyed in the air strikes in Khadezai area of the agency.