The main suspect fled the scene after the attack, but was later killed during a confrontation with police.
Crime scene tape. PHOTO: REUTERS
Six people were killed and two others injured in a shootout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan, while the main suspect was later killed in a clash with police, authorities said.
The incident took place in the village of Mangal, where gunmen opened fire, killing six people. The injured were rushed to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Paroa for treatment. According to SHO Samar Abbas, the clash was linked to a dispute over the snatching and recovery of three motorcycles, which were allegedly stolen at gunpoint on Monday evening.
Police said members of the Istrana tribe went to a tubewell in Marwat, Mangal village, to recover the stolen motorcycles, and an exchange of words with rivals escalated into gunfire. Among those who died was Altaf Khan Istrana, brother of local Pakistan People’s Party activist Sharbat Khan Istrana.
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The main suspect, Zulfiqar Marwat, fled the scene after the attack, but was later killed in a clash with police. According to a police spokesperson, a team led by Superintendent of Police Murtaza Khan surrounded the suspect following a tip-off.
After an exchange of fire, Marwat was found dead on the spot, accompanied by a Kalashnikov rifle. Authorities said a search operation had been launched in the area and efforts were underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.
In February, at least two officials were killed and three others injured after terrorists attacked a police station and a nearby customs camp in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district at 1:30 am on Tuesday, police said.
According to a police spokesperson on Wednesday, an unknown number of unidentified gunmen suddenly opened fire at the Yark police station, leading to the martyrdom of Constable Bilal at the scene.
Learn more: Attack on DI Khan police station and customs camp leaves two martyrs, three injured
Two other police officers, constables Umar Ali and Khayal Muhammad, were injured and were immediately transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment.
In another incident, five policemen, including police officer Fahim Mumtaz Khan Marwat, were martyred while a deputy superintendent of police and his driver were seriously injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Wanda Budh area of Paharpur tehsil in Dera Ismail Khan.
The incident occurred when a group of police officers, acting on information about the presence of militants, came under heavy fire from terrorists in ambush. Police returned fire, leading to a prolonged shootout that left officers Tauqeer, Irfan, Ghulam Subhani and Wajahat among the dead.
DSP Hafiz Muhammad Adnan Khan and his driver sustained serious injuries and were shifted to hospital, while security was beefed up and a search operation was launched to trace the attackers.
