Armed clash: 2 killed, 11 injured in shoot-out

The injured include khasadars, policemen and two passersby.

DI KHAN:

Two people were killed and 11 others injured in a shoot-out between police and armed motorcyclists in front of the South Waziristan Political Agent’s office in Tank on Tuesday.

An official at the Saddar police station said four motorcyclists fired at 17-year-old Abdul Wadood Mehsud in Mohallah Mehsudan of Tank city, injuring him. The assailants then tried to escape, but the police chased them. When the motorcyclists reached the office compound, they opened fire at the police, injuring two civilians, four policemen and two khasadar personnel in the vicinity.

Police retaliated, killing one of the gunmen on the spot, while another died when a hand grenade he was carrying exploded. Two of the injured motorcyclists belong to the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan.

Witness Abdul Qayum said he was when the shoot-out began. He added the two khasadars who got injured were on duty at the political agent’s office while the injured civilians were passers-by.

Abdul Wadood, the initial target of the gunmen, was later shifted to DI Khan for treatment, because he was in critical condition. Three of the injured policemen, Khan Shireen, Munawar Khan and Shoaib were also shifted to District Headquarters Hospital DI Khan.

SHO Saddar police station, Amir Abdullah, has registered an FIR and an investigation is underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2013.