Militants shell Pak town: 14 killed

At least 14 people, including a soldier and several children, were killed when mortar shells slammed into a town in northwest Pakistan while five others killed in suicide bombing yesterday in the same tribal region.
"At least 13 civilians were killed when militants fired mortar shells from Mirwali direction at Abbas Chowk in Darra Adam Khel," a military statement said. One soldier also died, it added.
"Security forces also responded and effectively engaged militants' locations," it said, without giving further details.
Residents and officials said several shells landed in an open area on the outskirts of town, where children were playing and people were watching.
A local government official, Atif Khan, earlier told AFP that at least 12 people were killed and six injured, all were civilians. The casualties were caused by mortar shells, which also damaged some nearby houses, he added.
Khan and residents said several children were among the dead.
Meanwhile a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a police and frontier corps checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan early Monday, killing five of them, a local police official said.
The official said the attack occurred at Baran Pul, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.