Ten security forces personnel who had gone missing during a clash with militants on December 21, were found dead in the Kago Qamar area of Upper Orakzai Agency in the early hours of Monday. Their dead bodies were airlifted to Peshawar, from where they were sent to the native towns and cities of the slain soldiers after funeral prayers. Officials said 11 personnel had gone missing during a clash with militants near Dabori in Orakzai Agency, two were killed and 22 others – including a major – had sustained injuries.
The officials said the dead bodies of the two soldiers killed in the fighting were found soon after the clash. Late on Sunday, the officials were tipped off about a dead bodies of the 10 personnel being dumped in the Kago Qamar area, after which they were recovered. Though there has been no official statement on the incident yet, all 10 of the dead bodies reportedly bore marks of brutal torture. Meanwhile, AFP reported that Pakistani authorities had recovered the slain soldiers in an exchange of bodies with Taliban militants following a clash two weeks ago in the northwestern tribal region. One security official said 23 soldiers were attacked in a late-night assault by up to 100 heavily armed insurgents. Another security official said the 10 soldiers had been beheaded and their bodies recovered in an exchange with the Taliban. “They handed over the beheaded bodies of 10 officials while we handed over four bodies of militants to them,” the official said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility but said 10 of their men had been killed. “We killed these soldiers during the clash. They had the bodies of our 10 people and we had in our custody the bodies of soldiers and the exchange of bodies took place today,” said Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.
