Militants release 2 Bannu employees

BANNU: Militants have released two employees of the Water and Sanitation Services Company (WSSC) Bannu, while demanding Rs15 million in ransom for freeing five abducted Wapda employees.

According to officials, six days ago, two WSSC employees, tractor driver Daulat Khan and Gul Riaz Khan, were abducted along with a tractor by unidentified armed men from the garbage dump near Garida Shah Jehan in Bannu.

The abductees were released on Miranshah Road and later reached their office and homes safely on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, militants demanded a ransom of Rs15 million for the release of five Wapda employees who were kidnapped about one and a half months ago.

The Wapda sources confirmed that the abductors had conditioned the workers’ release to the payment of the ransom amount.

In another incident, one person was killed and another injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire in the Barganto area of Domel.

According to police, unidentified motorcyclists ambushed a vehicle near the Barganto IDP Camp and opened indiscriminate fire, killing a resident, Barkat Jan, on the spot and seriously injuring his brother, Shah Zaman. The attackers fled after the assault. Police contingents reached the scene soon after the incident, cordoned off the area, and launched a search operation.

Sources said that local tribes in Barganto had repeatedly demanded the expulsion of non-local armed groups, issuing several public warnings in recent weeks, which had heightened tensions in the area. Bannu Region DIG Sajjad Khan and Counter Terrorims Department SP Fazal Wahid Khan arrived at the scene, reviewed the situation. Security in the area was tightened to prevent any untoward incident.