By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
PESHAWAR: More than 30 militants were killed in a powerful explosion inside a mosque in the remote Hilki area of Charmang, near the Afghan border, in Bajaur district on Thursday, officials said.
They said the militants, who had converted the mosque into a base for planning terrorist activities in the district, were storing a large cache of explosives inside. The stockpile detonated unexpectedly, killing all those present. According to initial reports, the group was preparing for a major terror attack when the explosives went off.
The blast reduced the mosque hideout to rubble. No civilian casualties were reported. Authorities confirmed that all those killed were militants and described the incident as a major blow to terrorist networks operating in the border region.
The incident comes in the backdrop of recently failed dialogues between the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Bajaur, where tribal elders and religious scholars had tried to mediate for peace. The talks collapsed after the militants refused to lay down arms.
Following the collapse of negotiations, security forces launched a targeted operation in the Mamund area of Bajaur to eliminate terrorist hideouts.
Thursday’s blast, officials said, underlines the risks posed by the militants’ continued reliance on makeshift arms depots and their plans for large-scale attacks in the tribal district.
