LANDI KOTAL, April 20: Masked militants slit the throat of a tribesman in front of hundreds of terrified local residents in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency on Tuesday, sources said.

They said that militants picked up Malang Meerak, a small-time vendor, from Meelwat area of Akkakhel and later brought him to Sheen Drang, a public place. They slaughtered him in front of hundreds of local residents, sources added.

Sources said that militants forced the locals to witness the public slaughtering of Malang Meerak. Militants said that Mareek was assisting security forces. It was also learnt that a number of locals fainted after watching the gory incident.The incident was the second of its kind in less than three weeks as militants had killed a taxicab driver in similar fashion in the same locality. Local officials were reluctant to comment about the incident.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of banned militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islami contradicted the news about fleeing of their leader Mangal Bagh to Afghanistan.

Talking from an undisclosed place to local journalists by phone, the LI spokesman said that Mangal Bagh was still in Tirah. He was leading his volunteers against Zakhakhel lashkar and Ansaarul Islam, he claimed.

In Landi Kotal, security forces arrested five men on suspicion of affiliation with LI. Officials said that Sher Rehman, Mohammad Rehman, Gulmir Khan, Yaqub Khan and Qabil Shah were picked up from Hospital Chowk near Landi Kotal Bazaar and taken to army camp for investigations. The arrested men belonged to Sipah tribe in Bara.

Meanwhile, militants destroyed a government high school in Bosti Khel village of Darra Adamkhel with explosives on Wednesday.

Officials said that the school was blown up just before morning prayers. No loss of life was caused in the explosion.

The security forces cordoned off the entire area and collected evidences from the scene of occurrence. Three rooms of the school were completely destroyed while its boundary wall was partially damaged in the incident.

The army retaliated by pounding hideouts of militants in the mountains of Darra Adamkhel mountains and in Tor Chappar and Bosti Khel with artillery from Kohat side.

In Charsadda, an FM radio station was blown up by unidentified persons in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday in the limits of Prang police station.

Shehryar, the manger of FM93 Dilbar Radio Station, told police that he along with watchman was sitting in his office when a huge blast occurred at 1:40am. He said when they came out of the office the backside boundary wall was razed to ground and studio of radio was partially damaged. He said the building had developed cracks.