KURRAM/ PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced a fresh operation against militants in Kurram, after five security officials were martyred in multiple attacks on Monday.

The fresh spate of violence threatens the precarious peace prevailing in the region, since a ceasefire agreement was reached followingmonths of conflict, that claimed around 130 lives.

The Thall-Parachinar road, the only land route con-necting Upper Kurram with other parts of the country, remains closed for traffic due to these persistent attacks.Since a ceasefire agreement was reached between warring factions in Kurram earlier this year, aid was being supplied to the region through convoys, escorted by heavy security.

Sources said that on Monday, an aid convoy comprisingseveraltrucksboundfor Parachinar entered Lower Kurram through the Chapri Gate at noon.

The convoy, escorted by police and other security agencies, was moving on the Thall-Parachinar road when assailants opened fire at Ochat Kalay, near Mandori in Lower Kurram, around 12:30pm.

Security personnel escorting the convoy retaliated, and two army gunship helicopters shelled areas around the attack site, sources added.

Intermittent firing continued for over two hours. An army soldier was martyred in the attack, while seven, including a policeman, two truck drivers and four civilians, were injured.

A second attack took place at the same location around 6pm, when forces tried to stop militants from looting stranded aid trucks,accordingtosources.

Assailants opened fire on the vehicle of a Frontier Corps officer, leaving five personnel injured. However, an officer remained unhurt in the attack.

Then, around 8:30pm, a convoy of the FC`s Quick ResponseForce which had arrived to recuse the injured soldiers was ambushed near the Government High School in Ochat Kalay.

Four FC personnel embraced martyrdom in this exchange, while three vehicles were damaged. However, there was no clarity on how many militants were killed or injured in the action.

`Attack by locals` A truck driver, Gul Faraz, who was caught up in the attack, claimed that announcements were made over loudspeakers from mosques to attack the vehicles.

Another driver, Akram Khan, said the convoy was attacked by locals.

Several drivers are also missing since the attack, he added.

Last month, an operation was launched in different parts of central Kurram, including Mandori, Ochat, Charkhel, Chapri and Paraw to clear theareas of militants.

Security forces also used helicopters for strikes at possible militants` hideouts during the days-long operation.

The provincial government believes that some militants could still be present in the area, sources added.

`Militants, present in Upper and Lower Kurram, plan to benefit from the situation,` sources told Dawn.

They added that an alleged militant commander, identified as Kazim and a resident of Lower Kurram, `wants to sabotage the peace accord at all cost`.

New operation In view of the situation, the KP government decided to launch another operation in the Mandori and Ochat areas to `clear them of miscreants,` the provincial government`s spokesperson, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said after the attack.

The decision to launch the action was taken in a late-nightmeeting chaired by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

The meeting was also attended by the chief secretary, additional chief secretary (Home) and provincial police chief.

Mr Saif said locals would be relocatedbefore the operation.

`The peace committees have failed to stop miscreants,` he said, adding that tribal elders should have handed over miscreants to the government.

The political leadership and public representatives must openly come out for peace in the area, he said, adding that any propaganda about Kurram would be `timely and effectively responded`.

Roadside explosions Separately, three people, including two security officials, lost their lives in two roadside explosions in Dera Ismail Khan and Bajaur.

Although there was no official word from ISPR, securitysources said an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted along a road in Kulachi that went off as a convoy of securityforcesapproachedthe area.

According to sources, the IED was remotely detonated, and the security forces` vehicles caught in the blast were completely destroyed.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but security forces started a search operation in the area to trace the attackers.

Meanwhile in Bajaur, a man was killed in an IED blast in the hilly area of Barang tehsil.

Officials and locals said that the victim was passing through the area when he was caught up in the attack.

He was shifted to the nearby Memola hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. He was identified as Walayat Khan, 57.

Muhammad Irfan Mughal in D.L Khan and Anwarullah Khan in Bajaur also contributed to this report