SWABI: Two traffic policemen were gunned down by suspected militants at the Karnal Sher Khan Chowk in the main Swabi bazaar on Friday.

Gohar Khan and Arshad Khan were on duty at the busy intersection when the assailants on a motorcycle shot them dead.

The attack took place two days after the killing of four militants in an encounter with police in the remote mountainous Maini village of Swabi on Wednesday.

Gohar Khan hailed from Kalu Khan village and Arshad Khan from Pajman in Gadoon Amazai.

Karnal Sher Khan Chowk is near the city police station and offices of the district police chief and deputy commissioner.

According to witnesses, people started fleeing in panic after hearing the gunshots as the two policemen lay in pools of blood.

The victims were taken to the district headquarters hospital where doctors pronounced them dead.

District Police Officer Javid Iqbal Khan said the area had been cordoned off and two suspects had been detained. He said all exit routes from the district had been blocked.

The official said the attack appeared to have been carried out to avenge Wednesday’s killing of four terrorists by police.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play