LANDI KOTAL, June 30: Fear gripped areas of Tirah inhibited by Qambarkhel and Kamarkhel tribesmen as Taliban have accused them of supporting their opponent groups besides warning them of dire consequences, said sources in the area.  

They said that the two tribes had started fortifying positions in their respective localities in anticipation of an eminent Taliban reprisal.

They said that the Taliban of Tariq Afridi group who had only recently forced Kukikhel tribes to leave their area, were suspicious of the role of Qambarkhel and Kamarkhel tribes and had been accusing them of clandestinely supporting their opponent and spying on them for the government.

It was learnt that after repeated assurances by the elders of the two tribes, Taliban refused to agree to their point of view and asked to cooperate with them or face action.

The sources said that Taliban had now set their eyes on other parts of Bara tehsil after consolidating their position in Kukihkel areas. They said that in view of the recent developments the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-i-Islam had also sent a word of conciliation to its Zakhakhel rival, the Tawheedul Islam (TI).

They said that the LI wanted to form a joint front against the Taliban in order to check their advances in its own dominated areas of Tirah.

But so far, the sources said, these conciliatory gestures had failed to yield any fruit as the Zakhakhels were reluctant to trust LI.

They said that the LI had even offered to release all Zakhakhel captives as a gesture of goodwill, but the TI showed no interest in any reconciliation.

The TI was formed in March last year after some of the LI commanders from Zakhakhel tribe developed differences with Mangal Bagh over the killing of a Zakhakhel cleric.

Meanwhile, activists of the two rival groups clashed in the border area of Akkakhel and Zakhakhel on the night between Friday and Saturday which resulted in injuries to two LI activists. The LI claimed to have captured two volunteers of its rival group.

In Akkakhel area of Bara, miscreants targeted a government school with a rocket and damaged its one portion. However, no one was hurt, as the school was closed.

AMRS SEIZED: The khasadar force on Saturday seized arms and ammunition from a truck onTorkhum border and took one person into custody.

Officials said that they recovered eight pistols, several bomb fuses, explosive material and thousands of rounds from the hidden cavities of a truck coming from Afghanistan.

The Khasadar force also took into custody one Hassebullah, a resident of Khost, Afghanistan.