BANNU: Two persons were killed and six others, including a former member of the provincial assembly (MPA), sustained injuries when a motorcade was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Janikhel area in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu on Sunday.
The sources said that former MPA Malik Adnan Khan Wazir, now an independent candidate for provincial assembly constituency PK-72 Bannu, was on his way to Janikhel in connection with his election campaign to attend a public rally after submitting his nomination papers when he was attacked.
An eyewitness Abbas Ali Khan said a deafening explosion took place as the vehicle of Adnan Wazir hit the explosive device planted on the roadside near Government Higher Secondary School in Shad Khan village.
Two persons identified as Malik Mumtaz Khan and Maqbool Khan travelling in Adnan Wazir’s vehicle were killed on the spot while six others including Adnan Wazir, Malik Ayub Khan, Ameer Muhammad, policeman Shah Diaz Khan and Khassadar Force personnel Waheedullah sustained injuries.
The security forces and police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the accused, but there was no word about the arrest of anyone till the filing of this report.
The injured were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Bannu.Adnan Wazir had joined the ANP after winning the 2008 general elections from the same constituency.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack on Adnan Wazir.The TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan told reporters on phone that they targeted Adnan Wazir as he was part of the ANP government for five years.
