PESHAWAR: Twenty-seven militants and four tribesmen were killed in gunfights in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said on Monday.

The gunbattles between a local tribal force and Taliban erupted in Kurram agency late on Sunday, they said, adding that forces later reinforced the tribal fighters and pounded militant positions with artillery.

“At least 27 militants and four members of peace lashkar were killed in the fighting in Masuzai area of central Kurram,” said the local government official, Sher Buhadar.

The lashkar was backed up by paramilitaries and artillery units of the Pakistan army, he added.Regional commissioner Sahibzada Anees confirmed the fighting and said more than 30 people had been killed in the gunbattles.—AFP