PESHAWAR: The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Peshawar Central Jail and his brother were shot dead by unidentified assailants on Thursday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda district, on a day when the first day of Eidul Azha is being celebrated in some districts of the province.

Police officials in Charsadda said DSP Zahir Shah was shot while he was exchanging Eid greetings at his hujra or guesthouse in Charsadda's Mandai area.

Local residents said that four armed men arrived on motorcycles and two went inside the premises posing as visitors to exchange Eid greetings with Shah, who was sitting in a compound adjacent to his house.

The attackers opened fire on the DSP following which his brother, who was nearby, rushed to the scene with a gun. The two assailants who were waiting outside shot Zahir Shah's brother, the residents said.

“Unknown gunmen shot dead Zahir Shah and his brother and fled on motorcycles,” local police station chief Hassan Khan told AFP.

District police chief Shafi Ullah confirmed the incident.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility but Taliban militants have targeted police, politicians and government officials in the past.

A contingent of police reached the site soon after the incident and cordoned off the area. A search operation was subsequently initiated as a probe into the incident went underway.

Last night, three suspected terrorists were killed in an ambush with police in Charsadda's Akhunzada area. Police also recovered weapons and hand grenades from the terrorists.