Four missiles fired from Afghanistan into Kurram Agency

Four missiles were fired from across the Pakistan-Afghan border into Kurram Agency on Sunday, a media report said.

The attack which left locals panicked did not cause any casualty. However, one missile struck a shop in the Shingak area, another landed near a mosque, and two others in a graveyard at Kachkina, a spokesperson of the local administration said, the Dawn news reported.

The spokesperson claimed the missiles were fired from Afghanistan's Paktia province.

Kurram is one of the most sensitive tribal areas in Pakistan as it borders three Afghan provinces and at one point was one of the key routes for militant movement across the border.

Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense of late, with officials from both sides trading allegations over terrorism.

Pakistan's border crossings with Afghanistan were sealed in the aftermath of a suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh -- the deadliest in a series of recent attacks in the country.

The military leadership had claimed the attacks were carried out by militants operating from safe havens in Afghanistan.

Though trade between the two countries has resumed at Torkham, the border crossing in Kurram Agency's Kharlachi area has been shut since February 16, 2017.

--IANS

sm/vt