DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A militant was killed in an encounter with security personnel in the Frontier Region of Tank on Saturday, officials said.

They said the encounter took place at around 2.30am.

However, an official source in the area claimed that four Taliban militants had been killed and another four injured in the clash. He said that the security forces had taken the bodies into custody and also had arrested the four injured militants.

Officials said that the security forces had launched a search operation in the area. They said that the security forces had also recovered a huge cache of weapons.

According to local sources, the exchange of fire between the security forces and the militants continued for at least two hours.

The sources said that the security forces had also launched a search operation in the Zarkani area of Kulachi tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan. They said that the encounter also took place in the area, in which a militant was killed, while another militant was arrested in injured condition.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2016