By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
KHYBER: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a moving vehicle in the Sultankhel area of Landikotal in Khyber district, killing two persons, including a minor boy, police and local sources said on Friday.
Local sources said that 31-year-old Fayaz and his 11-year-old nephew Arslan were on the way in their car from home to somewhere in the village when unknown gunmen opened indiscriminate firing on the car in Mazreena locality. Both inmates received bullet injuries and died on the spot.
Police identified the deceased as Fayaz and Arslan, residents of Mazreena Sultankhel village in Landikotal.
Soon after the incident, police personnel reached the scene, took the bodies into custody, and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital in Landikotal for post-mortem and legal formalities.
Police officials said that evidence collected from the crime scene, while efforts were underway to trace and arrest the assailants. They added that the case was being investigated from different angles; however, the motive behind the attack could not be ascertained yet.
The tragic incident spread fear among residents and demanded that the government take serious steps for the protection of citizens.
According to family members of the deceased, they had no enmity with anyone and were peaceful citizens. Police registered a case against unknown killers.
Over the past year, Landikotal has witnessed several terrorism-related incidents, including militant attacks on police checkpoints, targeted killings, and sporadic ambushes on security forces and civilians, with nearby areas like Tirah valley also experiencing deadly shootings and clashes, reflecting a continued rise in militant activity in the region.
