Taliban militants ambushed Pakistani forces near the Afghan border,killing two soldiers,even as a suicide bomber on Saturday hit a police station in South Waziristan leaving five persons dead and nine wounded. The brazen attack by Taliban near check points in troubled Aurakzai tribal region sparked running gunbattles in which nine militants were also killed and 62 others nabbed during the operations over the past two days,officials said. The sudden Taliban upsurge came after a brief lull and security officials suspect that large number of militants had taken shelter in the area after fleeing the Army advance in South Waziristan. Two soldiers were killed and two injured while repulsing an assault by a group of militants on a security check post in Chapri Feroz Khel area of Aurakzai Agency,officials said. In retaliation,security forces shot dead nine militants and arrested 22 during a search operation in Khewdad Khel area. Two security personnel were also injured in the shootout,they said. Meanwhile,a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a police station in an area near South Waziristan,killing five persons and injuring nine others. The attacker drove his vehicle into the boundary wall of the police station in Gomal,located 20 km from Tank city on the road to South Waziristan at 3.45 pm. A policeman and a boy who was passing the area were among the five persons killed. An emergency was declared in hospitals in Tank district. Three seriously injured persons were taken to a hospital in Dera Ismail Khan. The police station collapsed due to the blast. A nearby mosque was also damaged. Security forces cordoned off the area as rescue workers began clearing the rubble.
