LANDI KOTAL, May 14: Twenty militants and a peace volunteer were killed and several other persons including two security men received injuries during clashes in different parts of Federally Administered Tribal Areas on Monday.

In Khyber Agency, eight militants were killed in a clash with security forces. Officials said that members of banned militant group Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) ambushed a convoy of security forces at Qambarabad Chowk in Bara early in the morning. The attack left two soldiers injured, who were later shifted to a military hospital in Peshawar.

They said that gun battle, after the ambush, between the security forces and LI members continued for several hours. The battle left eight LI members dead, they said.

Local sources, however, claimed that five of the dead were kidnapped a day before and were killed during captivity. Officials denied the allegations of the local people and insisted that all the militants were killed during the clash.

In Kurram Agency, 12 militants were killed and several others injured when security forces pounded their hideouts with artillery and helicopter gunships in two different areas of the tribal region.

Sources said that security forces targeted militant hideouts in Kanzaki Kandao area of central Kuram with artillery shelling.

Three militants were killed and several others wounded in the shelling, they said.

In the second incident, helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in Kot area of Ali Sherzai. Nine militants were killed and several others received injuries in the incident, they said, adding several hideouts were also destroyed in the shelling.

The security forces have been engaged in an operation in central Kurram for the last several months. Security forces claimed that they had taken control of most of the tribal region. However, some surrendered militants said that Uzbek, Chechen and other foreigners were still present in the region.

In Mohmand Agency, a volunteer of a peace committee was killed and nine others were wounded when militants attacked their checkpost in Khara Shah area of Khawezai tehsil.

Officials said that militants used rockets and other heavy weapons to attack the checkpost, manned by the volunteers of Khawezai Peace Committee.

Samar Gul, a member of the peace committee, was killed and nine others were injured in the attack, they added.

The injured volunteers were identified as Azmat, Akhtar, Muntazir, Rehman, Nazak, Rahman, Amanullah, Hayat and Aman.

They were shifted to Peshawar for treatment.