KHAR, July 29: A girl was injured seriously when a mortar shell, fired from across the border, hit a house in Sarkai Kandao area of Bajaur Agency on Saturday night.

“The mortar shell fired from Afghanistan landed at the village and hit the house of Gulab Khan, partially damaging it and injuring a girl,” officials said.

The injured girl was taken to agency headquarters hospital for treatment.

Officials said that militants living in Kunar province of Afghanistan were responsible for the attack.

Volunteers of Mamond Peace Committee took positions in the mountainous area close to Pak-Afghan border soon after the incident.

It is pertinent to mention here that militants living in Kunar have increased attacks on the border areas of Bajaur tribal region during the last two months.

“Mamond tribesmen have made extraordinary arrangements for encountering cross-border attacks. For this purpose they have established dozens of new posts and deployed hundreds of volunteers in the border areas of the region,” Noor Mohammad, a senior member of Mamond Peace Committee, told Dawn.

Meanwhile, political administration on Sunday destroyed the houses of four tribesmen in Kitkoot village for their alleged links with militants living in Afghanistan.

The residents of the area said that administration with the help of Bajaur Levies destroyed the houses of four tribesmen, who were blamed for helping militants in an attack on the village two weeks ago.

“A committee, formed for probing the matter, held the said persons responsible for supporting militants in the attack on the village,” Tahir Khan, a member of the local peace committee, told Dawn.

Official sources said that the four tribesmen provided shelter to militants in their houses. They said that action against the tribesmen was taken after the decision of the inquiry committee, comprising members of local peace body.

Meanwhile, security forces and volunteers of local peace committee recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition during a search operation in Kitkoot.