TANK: Two militants were killed and another was arrested after being injured when the security forces repulsed an attack on NADRA’s South Waziristan Agency office situated in the Political Compound of Tank District, bordering the restive agency.

Six security personnel and a passerby were also injured during the police encounter in Wazirabad area of Tank.

The officials said that two Khasadar force personnel were injured when they stopped the militants who wanted to enter the office as they opened fire on them, adding “the militants, who were fleeing, were later encountered by police in Wazirabad area and two of them were killed while one was arrested. The militants were armed with hand grenades and heavy assault weapons.

The injured were shifted to the Districts Headquarters Hospital Tank and the serious ones were later shifted to Dera Ismail Khan Hospital.

South Waziristan is among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with home-grown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.

The tribal region was once the main stronghold for the Pakistani Taliban. The military launched a large offensive against militants there in 2009, but insurgents still operate in the area and periodically stage attacks.