Clash in NW Pakistan kills 2 police, 15 militants

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Around 100 militants attacked an important security checkpoint near the Pakistani city of Peshawar early Wednesday, sparking a three-hour clash that killed two police officers and 15 insurgents, police said.

The attack on the Sangu Mera checkpoint comes amid Taliban threats to avenge the May 2 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden elsewhere in Pakistan's volatile northwest. But it is more likely tied to the Pakistani military's offensives against militant groups in its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

Sangu Mera lies just along the border of Khyber tribal region, one of the areas where Taliban and other militants have hideouts and where the Pakistani army has staged multiple operations. The checkpoint is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) away from Peshawar, a strategically important city along the way to Afghanistan.

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