Three local cricketers killed in firing on loader rickshaw in Lakki Marwat

Three members of a local cricket team were killed and three others injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on a loader rickshaw near Abdul Khel after the group returned from a cricket match in Lakki Marwat's Shah Hasan Khel, Station House Officer (SHO) Aslam Khan said on Sunday. The victims were travelling back to their village of Abdul Khel after playing a cricket match in Shah Hasan Khel when armed men intercepted the loader rickshaw and opened fire, according to police. Three of the occupants, identified as Umer, Siddiq and Aliyan, were killed on the spot, while three others — Asifullah, Imdadullah and Ejaz — sustained bullet wounds in the attack. Police said most of the victims were either cricket players or members of a local peace committee. The incident caused panic in the area, while residents rushed to the scene following the firing. Police officials said that after the initial attack, some local youths present in the area returned fire at the assailants. They said there were reports that one of the attackers had been killed in the exchange of fire. However, police said the identity of the alleged attacker could not immediately be established, and the report of his death had yet to be independently confirmed. Read: Bodies of two missing FC personnel recovered in Bannu The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were also taken to the hospital for medico-legal formalities. Hospital spokesperson Wali Khan confirmed that three bodies and three injured people had been brought to the hospital following the incident. He said the injured were being provided medical treatment, while the bodies had been kept at the hospital for completion of medico-legal formalities. Following the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the area and cordoned it off. A search operation was launched to trace the attackers and determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. Police officials said further investigation was under way and that details about the motive for the attack and the identity of those responsible would be established after completion of the investigation. The incident came amid heightened security concerns in parts of Bannu, where tensions had recently escalated in the mountainous Hathi Khel area of Wazir subdivision. Also Read: 13 held hostage by terrorists in Hathi Khel Local sources had reported that 13 people were allegedly taken hostage while trying to leave Hathi Khel with their belongings. Police had not issued an official statement, although police sources had privately confirmed the reported hostage-taking. Several families had reportedly moved to safer areas amid fears of violence and restrictions on movement. Sources had also alleged that armed militants were preventing residents from leaving the area, although the claims had not been officially confirmed. The attack came amid heightened security concerns in parts of Bannu, where local peace committees and police personnel had been involved in efforts to maintain security in areas affected by militant activity. The security situation in Bannu has remained under considerable pressure in recent weeks, with police, FC and other security personnel coming under attack in different parts of the district. Read more: 13 held hostage by terrorists in Hathi Khel Earlier this month, an Elite Force constable, Ahmadullah, was killed in a firing incident within the jurisdiction of Cantt police station. In another incident in the Paing area of Domel, a civilian was killed during an exchange of fire between members of a peace committee and armed men. Similarly, a recent alleged quadcopter attack in the Hathi Khel area of Wazir subdivision left a woman and another civilian dead and two others injured. Police and security personnel, including the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Elite Force and members of a local peace committee, subsequently conducted an operation in the area. Police claimed that a suspected militant was also killed during the operation. Meanwhile, authorities have also been considering additional security arrangements for the protection of vital installations in Bannu and Lakki Marwat. The provincial government had recently sought additional FC platoons for the protection of important installations in the two districts. The latest incident once again highlighted security challenges in rural and sensitive areas of Bannu, particularly the movement and protection of security personnel and the need for effective measures to counter militant activity.