Execution: Taliban slay 21 tribal policemen in FR Peshawar
Nearly two dozen Levies personnel were kidnapped Wednesday night.
Nearly two dozen Levies personnel were kidnapped Wednesday night. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
Taliban insurgents executed 21 tribal policemen on Saturday – three days after they were seized in synchronised attacks on three security checkpoints in the Frontier Region Peshawar.
Scores of heavily-armed militants stormed the checkpoints in Koi Hassan Khel, Zakhi Sar Musa Darra and Jani Khwar areas of FR Peshawar late Wednesday night, killing two Levies Force personnel and kidnapping 23 others.
The bodies of 21 Levies personnel were found dumped in a nullah near Koi Hassan Khel area Saturday night. “Yes, 21 of them were found dead and one seriously wounded,” Naveed Akbar Khan, the assistant political agent (APA), told The Express Tribune.
The injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar city, said Khan.
According to the assistant political agent, all the victims were shot dead. “It’s a miracle that one of them was alive when the bodies were spotted,” he said. The relatives were informed who rushed to the site – but by the time the militants had fled.
“The bodies have been handed over to the families,” he added.
Local elders confirmed the development, saying that the Levies men were brought to the nullah and shot dead there.
On Friday, the political administration gave an ultimatum to the local Hassan Khel and Jina Kor clans, warning them of punitive action in case the kidnapped Levies personnel were not recovered by Monday.
On Saturday morning, the two clans formed a committee and tasked it with securing the release of Levies personnel. They decided to arrange money if the militants demanded ransom.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2012.
Taliban insurgents executed 21 tribal policemen on Saturday – three days after they were seized in synchronised attacks on three security checkpoints in the Frontier Region Peshawar.
Scores of heavily-armed militants stormed the checkpoints in Koi Hassan Khel, Zakhi Sar Musa Darra and Jani Khwar areas of FR Peshawar late Wednesday night, killing two Levies Force personnel and kidnapping 23 others.
The bodies of 21 Levies personnel were found dumped in a nullah near Koi Hassan Khel area Saturday night. “Yes, 21 of them were found dead and one seriously wounded,” Naveed Akbar Khan, the assistant political agent (APA), told The Express Tribune.
The injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar city, said Khan.
According to the assistant political agent, all the victims were shot dead. “It’s a miracle that one of them was alive when the bodies were spotted,” he said. The relatives were informed who rushed to the site – but by the time the militants had fled.
“The bodies have been handed over to the families,” he added.
Local elders confirmed the development, saying that the Levies men were brought to the nullah and shot dead there.
On Friday, the political administration gave an ultimatum to the local Hassan Khel and Jina Kor clans, warning them of punitive action in case the kidnapped Levies personnel were not recovered by Monday.
On Saturday morning, the two clans formed a committee and tasked it with securing the release of Levies personnel. They decided to arrange money if the militants demanded ransom.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2012.