PESHAWAR: Army took control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Kohat and Hangu cities and a curfew was imposed following a clash on Monday near Imambargah Said Habib in the Zargaran bazaar area of Kohat district. The curfew in Hangu was however lifted after two hours.

Station House Officer Cantonment police station Mazhar Jaan told Dawn.com that three people were killed in the clash near the imambargah.

The dead include two policemen and a civilian.

He further said several others were injured in the clash, adding that an angry mob of a religious group had set a number of shops on fire in Tirah bazaar.

Police said activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a religious group, were carrying out a protest against the recent violence in Rawalpindi when they clashed with a rival group near the imambargah which led to the trouble and the protesters set ablaze some shops.

Following the exchange of fire, protesters also set ablaze a number of shops in Tirah bazaar and tension mounted after which the army was called in, police said.

Due to the growing tension, law enforcement agencies imposed a curfew in Kohat and Hangu and the army took control of both the cities.

The Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that army had been called in the cities of Hangu and Kohat to avert any untoward incident.

Deputy Commissioner Hangu, Said Ahmed Jan, lifted the curfew after the situation calmed down and said the measure had been taken for two hours following the Kohat incident to avert any untoward situation.