02 October 2004	Saturday	16 Shaban 1425

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WANA, Oct 1: Four students were killed and two others injured when a bomb went off on the Wana-Tank Road at about 7.30am on Friday. Later, Mehsuds killed a foreign militant in a brief encounter, locals said.

It was unclear whether the students, on way to Government High School Shahu, had hit a landmine or militants had used a remote control to detonate the device, a witness said.

He said three students were killed on the spot. Three others were taken to a hospital in Jandola with multiple injuries where one of the victims died, doctors said. The deceased were identified as Shah Hussain, Nizamuddin, Ghulam Khan and Khair Mohammad.

A lashkar of the Mehsud tribe killed a foreign militant and captured another after a brief encounter that took place in the Sarwakei area at 6pm. The deceased was stated to be a Turkmen whose name could not be ascertained.

The arrested militant belongs to Tajikistan and was identified as Muhammad Khalid. One of their companions escaped, sources said. Meanwhile, tribal militant Abdullah Mehsud has threatened to kill a soldier if authorities denied permission to journalists to cover the release of the captive.

Mohammad Shaban, the soldier, was captured during an attack which Abdullah's supporters had launched on a military convoy in the Sarwakai area last month. Talking to Dawn by phone from an undisclosed location, the militant leader said he would release the captive only in the presence of journalists.