Bomb kills tribal leader near Bannu

Police say Malik Sayed Ali Wazir died on way to hospit­al while his son is fighting for his life

PESHAWAR: A pro-government tribal elder was killed on Sunday and his son was wounded when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the town of  Bakakhel, 150 kilometres south of Peshawar.

Malik Sayed Ali Wazir, who headed an anti-Taliban militia in the town, died on the way to hospital while his son was fighting for his life, Tahir Khan, a senior police official in neighbouring Bannu district, told AFP.

Read: Acts of violence: Security forces official killed in IED blast

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the killing but attacks on pro-government tribal elders by militants across the northwest are not uncommon.

Bannu also borders the lawless North Waziristan tribal district. The Army in June last year began a long-awaited drive to clear insurgent bases in the district after a bloody attack by the Taliban on Karachi airport sank faltering peace hopes.

The army has intensified its offensive since the Taliban's massacre of 153 people, 134 of them children, in the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar last December.

Read: Targeted: Tribal elder killed in Bajaur Agency

Last month, a tribal elder had been killed by unidentified assailants in Chaharmang area of Nawagai, Bajaur Agency. An official of the political administration told The Express Tribune that Mullah Amanullah, a pro-government tribal elder, was killed in the targeted attack.