UPPER DIR, July 12: Bodies of 17 soldiers and a civilian killed in a cross-border attack on June 24 were shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan on Thursday after militants in Kunar province struck a deal with a Pakistani jirga.The jirga comprising elders from Sunai Darra, Sabir Kallay, Maskeni and other border villages of Upper Dir held at least 10 rounds of talks with the militants in Kunar province.

According to jirga sources, the bodies were shifted to Sabir Kallay through Shahi Pass in the evening and handed over to the security forces.

The militants operating under the fugitive Pakistani militant, Maulana Fazlullah, had reportedly killed the soldiers in an attack in the border area of Sunai Darra.

Militants had demanded the release of their 20 men imprisoned in different jails in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and it could not be ascertained whether they had handed over the bodies in return for any concessions. —Correspondent