Mattani attack: Four cousins killed in ‘militant ambush’

Bodies found in an area reputed for skirmishes between militants, militia.

PESHAWAR: Four people were killed in what police suspect was a “militant ambush” in Adezai village near the Mattani police station, located on the outskirts of Peshawar.

An official from the Mattani police said that two brothers, Jamshed and Naeem, along with two of their cousins, Saleem and Abid, had gone to Peshawar airport to see off a cousin, after which they did not return to their homes. They were reported missing along with the taxi they rented.

“They were supposed to come back in the evening but when they didn’t, a search was launched by their families,” the official added. At around 1am their bodies were discovered along with their bullet-ridden car. “They were lying in their vehicle, all dead. They had been killed at least three hours earlier,” the police official said, adding that the vehicle had probably run into an ambush set by local militants.

When the men were located by locals and relatives, members of the local peace militia and police were informed. The site was then cordoned off and the victims’ bodies were shifted to Matani police station. Matani police told The Express Tribune that an FIR had been registered against unknown assailants as the victims had no known enemies.

The murder caused yet another wave of panic across the village, which has been the main battleground between local militants and the local peace militia.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2012.