LAKKI MARWAT, March 2: A police constable was killed when highwaymen opened fire on a temporary checkpoint near Kherukhel here on Friday morning.

Police had blocked the road after 10 armed highwaymen snatched two pickups from Niaz Mohammad and Gul Nawer of the Tank district and robbed trailer driver Najeebullah of Rs6,000 in cash and two cellphones near Titterkhel on the Indus Highway in the Ghaznikhel police area. The pickups were transporting crates of tomatoes to Bannu from Tank.

When police tried to stop the snatched pickups near the checkpost, the highwaymen opened fire on them, injuring constable Asfand Yar of the Frontier Reserve Police. The policeman was taken to a hospital where he died.

His body was later dispatched to Kohat for burial.

Police said they recovered the pickups near Mir Hazar Khanzad Khel and Mastikhel after an encounter with the accused.

However, the highwaymen escaped.