Bodies of two missing FC personnel recovered in Bannu

MIRANSHAH:

The bodies of two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel who went missing from the Saifan Kozi Khel area of Kuram Garhi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Sunday evening were recovered from the Kamali graveyard in Palosi, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Nahid Khan said on Monday.

The deceased personnel were identified as Havaldar Ishaq and Sepoy Umar Hayat, both belonging to Platoon No 59.

Police confirmed that the two FC personnel, identified as Havaldar Ishaq and Sepoy Umar Hayat, had gone missing from Saifan Kozi Khel within the jurisdiction of Cantt police station, and that an investigation into the incident was initiated.

Later, the bodies of the two personnel were recovered from the Komali graveyard in Palosi. Rescue 1122 teams shifted the bodies for identification and completion of legal formalities, the spokesperson said.

Following the incident, security was tightened in the area, while a search for the unidentified assailants involved in the abduction and killing of the two personnel was launched.

According to sources, the two FC personnel were allegedly taken away by unidentified armed men from Saifan Kozi Khel in the Karam Garhi area on Sunday evening, following which a search operation was launched for them.

Read: 15 police personnel among 21 martyred in Kohat Police Lines terrorist attack; over 100 injured

The security situation in Bannu has remained under considerable pressure in recent weeks, with police, FC and other security personnel coming under attack in different parts of the district.

Earlier this month, an Elite Force constable, Ahmadullah, was killed in a firing incident within the jurisdiction of Cantt police station. In another incident in the Paing area of Domel, a civilian was killed during an exchange of fire between members of a peace committee and armed men.

Similarly, a recent alleged quadcopter attack in the Hathi Khel area of Wazir subdivision left a woman and another civilian dead and two others injured. Police and security personnel, including the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Elite Force and members of a local peace committee, subsequently conducted an operation in the area. Police claimed that a suspected militant was also killed during the operation.

Meanwhile, authorities have also been considering additional security arrangements for the protection of vital installations in Bannu and Lakki Marwat. The provincial government had recently sought additional FC platoons for the protection of important installations in the two districts.

The latest incident once again highlighted security challenges in rural and sensitive areas of Bannu, particularly the movement and protection of security personnel and the need for effective measures to counter militant activity.