Police kill 2 suspected bombers

PESHAWAR: Police on Tuesday, during a raid, shot dead two people in Adezai area of Matni some 30 kilometres away from Peshawar.

The two men, Wasifullah and Zakirullah, had been accused by the local Aman Lashkar of being involved with militants. Two others, Jangrez and Aurangzeb, managed to escape according to sources within the lashkar.

The Adezai Aman Laskhar had accused Atif and Zakir of harbouring the suicide bomber who was involved in the November 13, 2009 suicide attack on Nazim Abdul Malik. Nazim Malik, along with 13 other people, had been killed in that attack.

Nazim Malik was the leader of the local Aman Laskhar, which had been formed by the government to counteract the growing militancy in the area. Similar lashkars exist throughout Fata. Experts believe, however, that the attack on Nazim Malik was triggered by the unique circumstances surrounding him- he had been a staunch supporter of the Taliban at one point in time.

The government arrested him and he, later on, took a solemn oath to fight against the militants in Matni. After this he had been made the leader of the Adezai Aman Laskhar. After his death, his son, Noor Malik, was elected as the laskhar’s leader. There have been conflicting reports regarding this incident, however.

Earlier on Tuesday, Online news agency reported that the police had killed two suspected suicide bombers after a shootout in the outskirts of Peshawar. The police also arrested two others and had shifted them to an undisclosed location, Chief City Police Officer, Liaqat Ali told media during a press briefing.

The police raided the militant hideout on a tip saying some suicide bombers were hiding in Matni, he added, according to Online. “Suicide jackets and explosives were recovered from them,” CCPO Ali said. “One of the militants was wearing a suicide jacket,” he added.

All four militants, he said, were dressed in military uniforms.

This comes a day after militants separately attacked the US consulate in Peshawar and an Awami National Party rally in Timergara celebrating NWFP’s new name, Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa. At least 50 people were killed in the Timergara suicide blast, while eight people were killed in the attack on the US consulate.