Three security personnel killed in an IED blast in Khyber Agency

EPI technician gunned down in Buner; judge’s vehicle attacked in Malakand

LANDI KOTAL: At least three troops were killed and as many sustained injuries on Saturday when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their vehicle in Tirah valley of Khyber tribal agency.

Initial reports suggest that the IED was planted on the route frequently used by security personnel for patrolling. Two of the injured personnel were in critical condition, according to the agency’s political administration.

After the blast, security officials reached the site and cordoned off the area. The security officials also mounted a search operation in the surrounding areas, an official said.

Meanwhile, unknown assailants gunned down an Expended Programme of Immunisation (EPI) technician in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district.



According to police, Sohail Khan, a resident of Kalu Khan village, was returning home from his workplace when he was targeted by gunmen, who later left the scene unchallenged.

An official said after the incident police reached the spot and shifted Sohail’s body to hospital. A search operation was also launched but no one was rounded up till the filing of the report.

“Sohail was posted at the health department in Narnji village on the border of Buner district. He was earlier associated with Rescue 1122 but later joint the health department in the area as an EPI technician,” the official added.

In a separate incident of violence, unknown gunmen attacked a senior civil judge in Sharifabad area of district Malakand.



“Senior civil judge Ghulam Farooq was returning after meeting his in-laws in Nowshera when his vehicle was attacked near the Sharifabad police station. However, Farooq and his family remained safe,” an official told The Express Tribune.

He said the judge, escorted by police guards, was later shifted along with his family to the Malakand Judicial Colony and then to Nowshera. “The police have registered a case and started investigation,” he added.

[WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS IN BUNER AND DARGAI]