TANK, March 26: A police officer and two attackers were killed, while 13 others, including three paramilitary soldiers and a constable, were wounded when suspected militants attacked a police station, an armoured personnel carrier and FC fort with hand grenades in Tank city on Monday, police and residents said.

Police said the first incident took place on the Wana road when a group of suspected militants entered a private high school and forced the administration to let them deliver a jihadi sermon to the students and recruit them for holy war.

After the sermon, they told the principal of the Oxford Public High School that they would enlist students for jihad and take them for training the same day, but he tried to stop them.

Meanwhile, a police party arrived at the place and the militants hurled a hand grenade, killing SHO Hassan Khan, and critically wounding a constable.

Police opened fire on the assailants, killing one of them and injuring two others. One of the wounded attackers later died.

Soon after the encounter, the suspected militants hurled a hand grenade on an armoured personnel carrier in Darwaza Bazaar, wounding three FC personnel — Mohammad Sharif, Lance Naik Wali Mohammad and Sepoy Abdul Haleem — and six civilians — Mohabat Khan, Saifur Rehman, Imran, Baz Khan, Maqsud Ali and Hikmat Shah.

Later in the evening, militants on a pick-up coming from the Wana side attacked the FC fort with a hand grenade. FC personnel opened fire on the vehicle, which sped away, leaving one wounded attacker, Mohammad Alam Mahsud.

A short while later, the militants in the same truck hurled a hand grenade at the Saddar police station, wounding two passers-by, Akbar Hussain and Aziz Barki.

The series of attacks created panic in the town adjacent to South Waziristan Agency and all the streets were deserted. Residents said tension was high and security forces were patrolling the streets.

Sources said that a few days ago militants had picked up a group of more than 20 students from a government high school and some private schools and shifted them to an unknown location for training.