14 Pakistani securitymen killed by Talibans

Swarms of Taliban militants swooped down on a border checkpoint close to Afghanistan today, killing 14 Pakistani security personnel and leaving scores wounded.

The militants, estimated by TV channels to number between 200-300, surrounded a check-post in Jandulmayar area of lower Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province raking it with gunfire, officials told media.

The troops retaliated and the firefight went on till morning. Fourteen security personnel were killed and several more injured in the fighting, officials said.

Authorities imposed curfew in the area, following which security forces launched an operation to flush out militants.

The troops used heavy weapons in the operation and reports said local residents had begun shifting to safer places.