5 rebels dead in Mohmand airstrike

ISLAMABAD (PAN border, killing five insurgents and injuring as many others, an official said on Friday.

The airstrike was carried out in the Baizai sub-district of the lawless region, a local official, Abdul Awal, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The incident could not be independently verified.

The militants were targeted in the Sharkho area, the official said. Five rebels were killed and as many others wounded, he said.

A tribal elder in the area, Haji Shakir, said the airstrike was conducted in the Gharnai area. He had no information about casualties.

Naeem Mohmand, another resident, said the Taliban had established training centres in the area where they planned attacks against government forces.

There has been no word so far from the Taliban about the incident.

In southwestern Balochistan province, about 300 Pakistani tribesmen briefly blocked NATO supplies and other traffic at a crossing along the border with Afghanistan on Friday to protest an alleged shooting incident, officials said.

The blockade that lasted three hours came a day after a clash took place on the Afghan side of the border between guards and Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen who were being searched. Residents said Afghan guards opened fire and wounded eight people.

The border was reopened after Pakistani border officers held talks with tribal elders and convinced them, Pakistani guards said.

Most of supplies for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan travel through the border at Chaman. Tribesmen who live in the area often have relatives and business contacts on both sides of the border.

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