MINGORA, Sept 25: Suspected militants gunned down three policemen and a flour dealer, while two girls’ schools were blown up as violence continued in different areas of Swat on Thursday.

Witnesses said that the assailants opened fire on traffic police in Mingora, killing head constables Nasrullah and Zahoor Khan on the spot. A passer-by, Faizur Rehman, was injured.

They said that police arrived at the place half an hour after the incident. The bodies of the two policemen were taken to the Saidu Sharif hospital.

The firing created panic in the bazaar and people ran for cover. Shopkeepers pulled down shutters.

In another incident, gunmen shot dead a policeman in the Guli Bagh area of Charbagh. He was identified as Saeed Mohammad.

Sources said that masked gunmen killed a flour dealer, Anwar Ali, near his shop in the Charbagh bazaar on Thursday.

The two girls’ schools were blown up in the Sheen Kat area of Charbagh on Wednesday night.

The curfew in Swat was relaxed from 7am to 9pm.