Terrorists abduct, kill five in tribal districts

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

Five bodies—including that of a 13-year-old boy—were recovered from Lakki Marwat, Tank, and South Waziristan districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. All victims are believed to have been abducted and brutally murdered by terrorists.

The first incident occurred in the Pezu area of Lakki Marwat, where terrorists affiliated with the Shahzaib Bhittani group of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) allegedly kidnapped three security personnel after intercepting a passenger vehicle.

The abducted soldiers were held in the remote hills of Beana for two days before being executed. They have been identified as Naseem and Muhammad Rashid—both from Kohat—and Muhammad Sher from Upper Kurram.

In the second incident, the beheaded body of a young man was found near Wanda Jogi on Pezu-Tank Road in Tank district. The victim, identified as Iftikhar, son of Ijaz Ahmed—a resident of Ama Khel, had reportedly been abducted by unidentified armed men a day earlier. Sources suggest he may have been killed on charges of espionage.

The third incident took place in Shin Warsak, Lower South Waziristan, where 22-year-old Haq Nawaz, son of Bahadur Khan, was abducted from Deekana Stop. His body was later recovered from a remote mountainous area known as Algad. He had left home for work and was employed at a local shop.

Unknown armed men also have kidnapped three trailers along with seven drivers belonging to an oil and gas company in Bannu. The abduction took place near Mandi Bakakhel, where the unidentified individuals intercepted and took away the trailers and drivers.

This is not the first such incident—previously, vehicles supplying goods to the same company were also abducted. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, security forces launched an operation in the Umar Khel area of Tank District against the terrorists responsible for killing three security personnel. During the operation, they killed two terrorists.