3 cops, 2 soldiers martyred in 2 attacks in Kohat, Lakki Marwat

KOHAT/ MIRANSHAH/RAWALPINDI/LAKKI MARWAT: Three cops and two soldiers were martyred in two different terror incidents in Kohat, Miranshah and Lakki Marwat on Wednesday, while independent candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and his two other colleagues were killed by unidentified assailants during the election campaign in Waziristan.

In the first incident, three policemen and a civilian were martyred when a group of terrorists attacked a police check-post near the Lachi Toll Plaza on the Indus Highway, officials said on Wednesday.

They said that a group of armed terrorists, numbering 12, attacked the police check-post located near the Lachi Toll Plaza overnight. The assailants lobbed hand-grenades into the check-post and opened fire at the facility with sophisticated weapons, the officials said, adding the attack left three cops martyred.

The martyred cops were identified as head constables Amjad, Junaid and Constable Waqar. An employee of the toll plaza, Noor Muhammad, also lost his life in the attack. The assailants managed to escape after the attack.

The funeral prayers for the fallen cops were offered at the Kohat Police Lines. Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan, civil and military officials attended the funeral. The bodies of the martyred cops were sent to the native areas for burial. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, an independent candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Malik Kalimullah, and his two other colleagues were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on them during the election campaign, officials said on Wednesday.

Malik Kalimullah, an independent candidate for PK-104, was busy in a door-to-door campaign in his native Tappi area when unidentified persons opened indiscriminate fire on him, killing him and his two colleagues on the spot, a police official said.

Meanwhile, two soldiers were martyred while two terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire in the Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday.

Troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location as a result of which two terrorists, including Aftab alias Malang and Masood Shah, were sent to hell.

These terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as target killings of innocent civilians. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from them.

However, during an intense exchange of fire, two brave soldiers, Sepoy Muhammad Afzal (age 29 years; resident of district Bhimber, Azad Kashmir) and Sepoy Ibrar Hussain (age 27 years; resident of district Mansehra), having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat.

Meanwhile, former senator Mir Aslam Buledi on Wednesday sustained injuries in a firing incident in Turbat city, Rescue officials said.

Buledi, who is also a former member of Balochistan Assembly, came under a gun attack near Issa Komi Park in the city and was moved to hospital, the official added.