Two elders killed in Orakzai IED blast

KALAYA: Two tribal elders were killed and another elder and his son sustained injuries in a roadside bomb blast in central parts of Orakzai Agency, official sources said on Thursday.

Officials of the political administration said that four tribesmen including three elders were on way to Hangu in a car when their vehicle was targetted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Tormast area in central parts of Orakzai.

They said a tribal elder Malik Shah Jehan was killed in the blast on the spot while Malik Askar Shah, Gul Shah Jan and his son Farman sustained critical injuries in the incident.

The officials said the injured were taken to a local hospital where Malik Askar Shah succumbed to his injuries.

The doctors referred the other injured to a hospital in Peshawar owing to their precarious condition. The vehicle was destroyed in the explosion, the sources added.

The personnel of the Orakzai Scouts and Levies force reached the blast site, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation against the suspected militants.

No militant group claimed responsibility for the attack till filing of this report. As many as eight tribal elders and members of peace committees have been killed and score others injured in roadside bomb blasts in the past few months in Orakzai.