SHO among three martyred in Lower Dir attack on police van

TIMERGARA: Two cops including an SHO and a civilian were martyred and two others sustained injuries when a police mobile van was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Maidan area in Lower Dir district on Thursday, official sources said.

They said the police mobile van was on a routine patrol when it was hit by the roadside IED at Lamotai Soori Pau village in Maidan. The sources said SHO Bakht Munir, driver Irfan and a civilian Fazal Hussain were martyred in the explosion while Constable Hazrat Saeed and Constable Asad Iqbal sustained injuries. The injured were shifted to the Tehsil Hospital at Lal Qila. The police vehicle was completely destroyed as a result of the blast.

It may be mentioned here that Maidan was one of the most militancy-affected areas in Lower Dir . The security forces cleared the area from militants after a military operation in 2009. The Pakistan Army had started handing over security responsibilities in the area to the civil administration some two months ago and police were deployed at the checkpoints.

Meanwhile, funeral prayer for the martyred cops was offered at the Police Lines in Balambat with state honours. The District Police Officer (DPO) Nausher Khan, police officials and a large number of locals attended the funeral prayers. Bodies of the martyred cops were dispatched to their native villages in Takht Bhai and Maidan.