LAKKI MARWAT: Three people were killed and four others injured when rival groups traded fire over a land dispute in Bezankhel area of Bannu district on Saturday.

The police said the firing took place in Barlashti Bezankhel locality, adding Zermatullah and Rabnawaz from one side and Naqibullah from the other died on the spot.

They said Abubakar, Noor Akhtar and Kifayatullah were wounded in the clash. The bodies and the injured were taken to the Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.

A contingent of police also reached the area and the hospital to control the situation.

The township police registered separate cases under relevant sections of law and began investigations.

In a separate development, armed men shot at and wounded two motorcyclists near Kotka Atlas village in Naurang town of Lakki Marwat district on Saturday.

Abdul Qadir Khan, 44, who was wounded in the attack, told the police that he and Shakirullah were going to River Kurrum for recreation on a motorcycle, when two unknown motorcyclists appeared there and opened fire with pistols, leaving them injured.

He told the police that both the attackers escaped, and locals shifted them to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Naurang.

The Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station registered a case against unknown attackers.

Also in the day, two motorcyclists lost their lives in a road accident on the Indus Highway in Bannu.

The deceased were identified as Sakhi Zaman, 27, and Abdullah, 20, residents of North Waziristan tribal district.

The bodies were shifted to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2021