BANNU: Three people were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on a private ambulance transporting a patient to Islamabad here on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at Sperka Chowk in Domel, where armed men already present at the spot signalled an ambulance to stop. When the driver did not stop the vehicle, the assailants opened fire. As a result, three people accompanying the patient were injured. The vehicle was also damaged. The patient and the driver, however, remained unhurt.
The injured were identified as Mazhar Hussain, a resident of Jhang, Punjab, Shakir Ali, a resident of Karak (currently residing in Islamabad) and Sheeraz, a resident of Pakpattan, Punjab. All three are employees of a private care centre in Islamabad.
According to the police report lodged by one of the injured, Mazhar Hussain, they were transporting a patient, Rehmat, resident of Mitakhel Bannu, to Islamabad for treatment. Upon reaching Sperka Chowk, armed individuals attempted to stop the ambulance and then opened unprovoked fire.
Meanwhile, unknown miscreants carried out a hand grenade attack on a sentry point of Bannu Central Jail here on Wednesday. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported. The attackers targeted the sentry point located at the corner of the jail on the side of Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.
The hand grenade struck the wall and bounced back onto the road, where it exploded with a bang.
The jail superintendent said that the facility was also targeted in a sniper attack, but due to effective security arrangements, no casualties occurred and all personnel remained safe.
Sources said the jail had already received threat alerts regarding possible attacks. In view of these threats, jail authorities had been conducting regular night patrols.
In another incident, unknown assailants shot dead a veterinary doctor near a mosque adjacent to Tarang graveyard.
The deceased was identified as Arslan, 35, a resident of Hinjal Ameer Khan. The city police shifted the body to hospital for postmortem, and initiated an investigation into the incident.
Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2026
