Cross-border mortar kills 7 in northwestern Pakistan

A mortar shell fired from Afghanistan hit a house in a border village in northwest Pakistan Sunday, killing seven people who were members of the same family, officials said.
According to local police, the shell hit a house in Bangro Batwar village in the Salarzai area of Bajaur district.

Bajaur was a Taliban stronghold until a large scale military operation in 2009 drove the militants from the region. 

The Pakistani armed forces say Taliban members previously in Bajaur have since fled to across the border.The incident took place in Batwaar Bangro village, some 50 kilometre from Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Khan said police and rescue officials helped the villagers retrieve dead bodies when they reached the site.“The house (was) completely destroyed in the attack,” Khan said.

Anwar Ul Haq, a senior government official in the area, confirmed the incident and the death toll and said the mortar was fired from Kunar province, across the border in Afghanistan.

Notably, Pakistan briefly closed the Torkham border crossing after a mortar fired from Afghanistan landed in Pakistan without causing any damage.

Bajaur is one of Pakistan’s seven remote districts bordering Afghanistan.

All seven districts were once a focal point in the global war on terror but were brought under the control of Pakistani authorities after the passage of legislation in 2018.

Security has improved in the region in recent years, with the Pakistani military carrying out multiple operations there.
A United Nations' report has endorsed Pakistan's stand about being victim of cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan
The report by monitoring team of UN Security Council Committee overseeing sanctions against Al-Qaeda and Da'esh (ISIS) expressed concern over the growth of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and their impact on the region.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that certain terrorist elements have been targeting the country from their bases in Afghanistan.