KHYBER: An armed attack on a checkpost in Bara area here on Saturday left a policeman and passerby dead.

Police officials said two suspected terrorists riding a motorcycle opened fire at the checkpost in Arjali Nadi locality, critically injuring a constable and another man.

Both the injured succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital, officials said, adding the incident took place when other policemen on duty at the checkpost had gone to a nearby mosque to perform afternoon prayers.

The attackers managed to escape.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack.

Funeral prayers of the martyred policeman, identified as Said Karim, hailing from Shalobar tribe of Bara, were offered at the Shah Kas Police Training Centre.

Police termed it a targeted attack and said that investigations were underway to track down the culprits involved in the incident.

Officials said that as many as four policemen had been killed in similar attacks in Bara during the last four months.

However, the police have so far failed to arrest any attacker.

Meanwhile, security officials in Tirah termed the Friday’s killing of a young man at the hands of security personnel as a mutual misunderstanding, and announced compensation for the family of the deceased.

They said that temporary security barricades had been placed to check the movement of suspected persons after some unidentified persons carried out a grenade attack on a security checkpost in the same vicinity.

The officials said when the security personnel signalled the deceased, Aurangzeb, and a man accompanying him to stop at one of these barricades they sped away on their motorcycle.

Subsequently, the security personnel had to open fire on the motorcycle riders, suspecting them of being the ones, who were involved in the attack, which took place minutes before the incident, the officials contended and added the incident was a result of sheer misunderstanding on both sides.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2022