PESHAWAR: Four tribal elders were killed in two separate attacks in North and South Wazir­istan on Tuesday.

In North Waziristan, unidentified attackers targeted Haji Sultan Muh­ammad, the grandson of renowned freedom fighter Mirza Ali Khan Faqir of Ipi, in Mir Ali Bazaar at around 6:30pm.

The attacker, riding in a vehicle with tinted mirrors, opened fire at the elder’s vehicle. He died on the spot along with a companion, identified as Rahim Gul. Another elder Malik Subedar Khan was injured in the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In the second attack, a roadside bomb in the Sarwakai area of South Waziristan district killed two people, one of whom was the brother of a former peace committee member, according to police.

CTD guns down four ‘militants’ in Swat, Peshawar

Two other persons were injured in the attack.

The victims were identified as Malik Daud, brother of Wali Jan; and Khona Jan.

‘Militants’ killed

In Swat, three alleged terrorists were killed in a police encounter in the hills of Banjot area of Mangalawar on Tuesday, according to officials.

The CTD had gone to the area with two under-custody ‘terrorists’ to trace the hideouts of their companions, according to Mala­kand Division DIG Nasir Mahmood Satti.

The police claimed to have arrested the two suspected terrorists, Rafiullah and Asmatullah, on June 5. In a press conference, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IG Police Akhtar Hayat Khan Ganda­pur claimed one of them was a key militant commander and the other his facilitator. They both belonged to TTP’s Salim Rabbani group, the IGP said as he presented the alleged terrorists in front of the media.

DIG Satti added that during the search operation, an absconding militant, Zakirullah, opened fire at his companions, killing the under-custody suspects. Zakirullah was also killed in retaliation.

Last month, an exchange of fire between armed men and police took place in the same area, killing one civilian and injuring a cop.

Separately, another alleged militant was killed during a search operation in Mattani area, on the outskirts of the provincial capital Peshawar.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2023