MIRAMSHAH, April 23: One soldier and two suspected attackers were killed and three other people, including a bystander, wounded in a shootout near Miramshah on Sunday, officials and witnesses said.

Tension ran high following the killing and overnight shelling by security forces on residential compounds in Datakhel area. Miramshah Bazaar remained closed on Sunday.

Officials said that troops fired on a commuter van at a check-post when the driver ignored signal to stop. Occupants of the coach, coming to Miramshah from Bannu, returned fire killing a soldier. Two armed passengers were killed in the crossfire and another two wounded.

A bystander, Marwat Khan, also received bullet injuries. He was taken to hospital where his condition was stated to be serious.

Witnesses said troops opened fire when passengers refused to surrender arms.

Other sources said that security forces took away the bodies and the wounded. Their names could not be ascertained.

The administration recently imposed a ban on display and business of arms in Miramshah, Mirali and other areas.

Following the incident, helicopters started hovering over the area.

On Saturday night, security forces resorted to heavy artillery shelling after they came under attack. The sources said that residents of Datakhel area had started vacating their houses and shifting to safe areas.

Meanwhile, pro-Taliban militants asked the tribal Khasadar force to either refuse running missions or join the Mujahideen.

“You should either sit at homes or join the Mujahideen in their jihad...,” read a pamphlet distributed by the so-called Mujahideen-i-North Waziristan in Miramshah on Saturday.

SHOT DEAD: Meanwhile, unidentified attackers shot dead the younger brother of a security official in Razmak town of the North Waziristan Agency on Sunday, officials said.