Four missiles fired into Pakistan from Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: Four missiles fired from Afghanistan today landed in northwest Pakistan's restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, triggering panic among the residents, officials said.

The missiles were fired on upper Kurram Agency from Afghanistan's Paktia province, according to the political administration.

One of the missiles hit a mosque while another destroyed a shop in the remote Parachinar's Shingak area. Two other missiles hit a graveyard in Kachkina area.


The residents were panicked after the shop was hit. No incidents of loss of life were reported, authorities said.

Kurram Agency, which borders three Afghan provinces, is one of the most sensitive tribal areas. Its Afghan border has remained closed since February over fear of terror activities.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last month ordered the immediate reopening of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan in a goodwill gesture, even as he hoped that the Afghan government would address Islamabad's concerns on cross-border terrorism.

Pakistan's border with Afghanistan is more than 2,400 km long and is the main route of trade between the two countries. The two-way annual trade is between USD 1.5-2 billion.

The incident occurred in the same area where the Pakistani Taliban on Friday targeted a Shiite imambargah with a powerful car bomb, killing at least 24 people and injuring nearly 100 others at a crowded market.

The blast struck the women's entrance of the imambargah in the remote Parachinar in Kurram Agency, sending the large number of people gathered for Friday prayers near the market into a frenzied run for safety.

Last month, a suspected missile-firing US drone killed two Afghan Taliban militants in a village near the Afghan border in northwestern Kurram.