KOHAT, Feb 18: Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested two Afghan terrorists in an hour-long operation in Thall tehsil of Hangu district and recovered a suicide jacket and weapons from their possession.

Officials said that following information the police cordoned off Said Shah Banda village in Thall tehsil and made announcement on the loudspeaker that nobody should come out from their house as they were expecting a battle with terrorists. The police elite force and commandos taking part in the operation were also backed up by armoured personnel carriers.

Later, after one hour search the police arrested Habibullah and Said Wali, residents of Paktia province of Afghanistan, along with a suicide jacket and weapons from a house they had recently hired on rent.

The officials said that the two did not put any resistance at the time of their arrest.

They said that the suspected terrorists had rented a house in area close to the Kurram Agency, which had a long porous border with Afghanistan.

The officials said that during preliminary investigations the terrorists revealed that they were planning to target some place in Hangu district for which they had prepared a plan and a suicide jacket.

The bomb disposal squad said that 12 kilogrammes of explosives were attached to the suicide jacket, also containing ball bearings, bolts, nuts and a dual ignition system.

The accused were shifted to an unknown place in Hangu district for further investigation and a case had been registered against them under the Terr- orism Act in Thall police station.

In Khyber Agency, a volunteer of Zakhakhel Peace Committee was killed and another received injuries in renewed clashes with a banned militant outfit in Tirah valley on Saturday.

Sources said that activists of Lashkar-i-Islam attacked a bunker, which they lost to their rival group Tawheedul Islam, mostly comprising Zakhakhel tribal volunteers.

In exchange of fire, one volunteer of Zakhakhel was killed while another received injuries.

There were also reports about Lashkar-i-Islam’s retaking the bunker and capturing three Zakhakehl volunteers.

In Bazaar Zakhakhel area, two children and two women were critically injured when a mortar shell fell on a house.

In Nowshera, a policeman was killed and another suffered wounds when a vehicle of suspected militants hit them near Pabbi on Saturday.

Police sources said that two constables, Tauseef and Umair, were patrolling the area on a motorbike.

“They signalled a suspected car to stop between Pabbi and Taru Jabba, however, the inmates of the car opened firing on them,” they said.

Both the policemen took positions on the road to target the fleeing suspects but another vehicle of suspected militants hit them, killing Tauseef on the spot and injuring Umair.

The injured was referred to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar in critical condition.

The suspected militants riding in two vehicles managed to escape after the incident.

Police cordoned off the locality soon after the incident and started search operation but there was no report of any arrest.