North Waziristan: Soldier dies in roadside blast

Forces mistakenly gunned down a tribesman for violating curfew.

MIRANSHAH:

A security official was killed and two others were injured when a homemade bomb planted by roadside exploded near a military convoy in North Waziristan’s Mirali Tehsil on Sunday.

A security forces’ official said the convoy was en route to Bannu from Miramshah and Mirali Tehsil. At around 8:30pm the convoy reached the Tega checkpoint near Khajori check-post, where an IED detonated near a vehicle killing one of the officials on the spot and severely injuring two others.

Meanwhile, the forces mistakenly gunned down a Mehsud tribesman for violating curfew.  The area’s political administration on Sunday morning imposed curfew asking people to restrict themselves to their houses and not to step out. However at around 10:00am a tribesman was found walking near Miramshah High School for Boys. The security forces fired a warning shot; however, as the tribesman disregarded the warning, the security forces shot him down.

During the body search, it was found that two headphones connected to a radio were attached to his ears which stopped him from hearing the warning shots, the official added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2013.