Massive hunt under way after 17 workers kidnapped

A massive hunt was under way in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) to recover at least nine civilian factory workers, who were kidnapped by terrorists for ransom from the Kabal Khel area, police said on Thursday.

According to the police, terrorists affiliated with the Fitna al-Khwarij – a term used for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – kidnapped 17 civilian staff of a government project from Darra Tang Road in the morning. The terrorists took away the hostages and put the staff van on fire, they added.

"At around 9am, 17 workers, including a driver, involved in a mining project were travelling in a minibus when they were stopped and taken away at gunpoint by some men on Dara Tang Road in Lakki Marwat," Shahid Marwat, spokesperson for the Lakki Marwat district police, told a media outlet.

The kidnapped officials include senior admin officer Hafiz Bashir, senior technicians Ehsanullah, Safiullah and Habibullah, technician Moazullah Anwar, computer operators Hazrat Ali, Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Israr, junior assistants Rehan, Sikandar, Aqeel, Noman, watchman Riaz and others.

Security forces and law-enforcement personnel took immediate action and so far recovered eight kidnapped workers, according to the police. They added that a massive operation was under way for the recovery of the remaining workers.

"Eight of the abducted workers have been recovered, of which three sustained minor injuries," the police spokesperson said, adding that an operation involving police and security personnel was under way in the district to recover the remaining workers.

Medics at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital confirmed treating three recovered hostages. Following the incident, announcements were made from mosques in various villages of the district for protest against the incident.

The kidnapping occurred as the K-P Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said its personnel killed three terrorists belonging to a TTP affiliate in an intelligence-based operation in the Malang Adda area. They identified the dead as Shafeeq Nawaz, Muhammad Mujahid alias Jihadyar, and Fidaur Rehman.

(WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK)