Militants kill two brothers after abduction from Bannu mosque

A series of deadly attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has left police officers and civilians dead, underscoring a renewed surge in militant violence in the region, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

According to the details, unidentified assailants abducted three brothers from a mosque during Isha prayers in Bannu's Sukkari Hasan Khel area.

The incident occurred late on Wednesday evening when worshippers had gathered for Isha prayer. According to police officials, the gunmen stormed the mosque and forcibly took the three men away at gunpoint.

On Thursday, the bodies of two of the abducted brothers were recovered from Marwat Canal Road. The deceased were identified as police constable Anwar Amjad and his brother Hazrat. Their bodies were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The third brother, Saeed Akhtar, remains in the custody of the kidnappers, and authorities say efforts are under way to secure his safe recovery.

Police have launched a search operation in the surrounding areas, sealing off entry and exit points and conducting house-to-house searches.

Police officials said the motive behind the abduction and killings is under investigation, but the targeting of a serving police officer suggests a possible militant angle.

In a separate incident in the Khyber district, unidentified gunmen opened fire in the Sultan Khel area within the jurisdiction of the Landi Kotal police station.

Constable Safeer Khan and his 10-year-old son, Talha, were shot dead in the attack. Police sources said the assailants fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

Funeral prayers for Constable Safeer Khan and his son were offered at the Khyber Police Lines with full state honours.

A smartly turned-out police contingent presented a salute, while senior police and army officials attended the ceremony along with a large number of relatives and local residents.

The father and son are to be laid to rest in their ancestral village of Sultan Khel in Landi Kotal.

Elsewhere in Bajaur, funeral prayers were also held for four police officials who were martyred in a militant attack yesterday. The slain officers were identified as Constables Yar Zada, Daud Khan, Imran, and Siraj.

A ceremonial police squad paid tribute to the fallen officers, and special prayers were offered for the elevation of their ranks in the hereafter.

The funeral at the Bajaur Police Lines was attended by the Commandant of Bajaur Scouts, the District Police Officer of Bajaur, the Deputy Commissioner of Bajaur, and the SP Investigation of Bajaur, as well as other police and civil officials, tribal elders, and members of civil society.

After the ceremony, the bodies were dispatched under a special police escort to their native towns, where they will be buried with full official honours.

The attack in Bajaur took place shortly before iftar near Naway Kali, when militants belonging to “Fitna al-Khawarij” ambushed a patrolling party of the Ababeel Squad.

Four officers were killed in the assault, while two others, Irshad Khan and Aziz ur Rehman, were wounded. The injured personnel are receiving medical treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar.

District Police Officer Muhammad Khalid condemned the attack and reiterated the department’s resolve to bring those responsible to justice. He said a heavy contingent of police had reached the site of the ambush and that a search-and-strike operation was ongoing in the area.

He vowed that the sacrifices of the martyrs would not go in vain and that the attackers, who targeted security personnel deployed for public protection, would be hunted down and eliminated.

Reporter: Abdul Qayyum Wazir