BAJAUR: Two security personnel were martyred and as many others suffered critical wounds when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur tribal district, police officials said on Tuesday.

They said the incident occurred at about midnight in the Tarkhoo area, some 20km northwest of Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur district.

The officials said the security personnel were on a routine patrol on the Inayat Killi-Laghari highway when the bomb exploded near their vehicle.

They said all the four security personnel in the vehicle were critically injured in the explosion, adding that two of them died on way to the District Hospital, Khar.

The soldiers martyred were identified as Naib Subedar Javid Khan and Lance Naik Zahirullah Khan and the injured as Ijaz Khan and Saifullah Khan.

The injured were later shifted to Peshawar from the hospital in Khar where they had initially been admitted.

The bodies of the martyred soldiers were taken to their native areas by an army aviation helicopter.

Soon after the incident, a contingent of security personnel, along with police, launched a search operation in the area to arrest the elements behind the explosion. However, no arrest had been made till late into the night.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2021