2 govt officials, 3 millitants killed in Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar, Aug 15 (PTI) Two government officials were shot dead by unidentified gunmen and three militants belonging to a banned outfit were neutralised in two separate incidents in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police and security officials said on Friday.

In the first incident, unidentified armed men opened fire at a hotel near Mufti Mehmood Hospital on Dera Daraban Bypass Road in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) district, killing two Excise Department officials on the spot while they were having breakfast, police said.

The hotel owner was also injured in the firing, they said, adding that the attackers managed to flee the scene.

Police teams reached the site immediately, cordoned off the area, and launched a search operation to track down the assailants.

According to officials, several government officials have been targeted in the area in recent months, with banned militant outfits known to be active in the southern districts of the province.

In a separate incident, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), with support from the local police, killed three militants associated with the banned outfit Fitna-tul-Khawarij during an intelligence-based operation in the Regi Model Town area of Peshawar district, a CTD official said.

Acting on intelligence inputs, a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team intercepted the militants late Thursday night as they were allegedly planning a terrorist attack near the border area between Khyber district and Peshawar.

The militants opened fire on the security forces, prompting retaliation in which all three were killed on the spot.

One of the slain militants was identified as Abdullah, alias Jawad, an Afghan national wanted in several terrorism-related cases. The identities of the other two are being verified, the officials said.

The CTD also seized weapons and explosives from the scene. PTI AYZ SCY SCY