Rocket attack damages two houses in Landi Kotal – Pakistan

LANDI KOTAL: Two houses suffered partial damage when two rockets fired from a nearby hill landed at the army camp in Landi Kotal in the early hours of Sunday.

Local security officials said the rockets were fired from the crest of Hamza Baba, which dominated the army camp with an interval of 20 minutes. The first rocket was launched at 3 a.m. and the second at 3:20 a.m., they added.

They said the first projectile hit the border wall of the house of Aslam while the second hit the house of Balam Masih, causing minor damage to both houses.

Subsequently, the security forces conducted a search operation in the surrounding areas and arrested two suspects identified as Najeebullah and Tahirullah. They were transferred to the army camp for questioning.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a statement issued to local media after the incident claimed responsibility for the attack. TTP made no claim about casualties in the attack and insisted that the rockets reached the targets.

PROTEST: About 25 government schools, all for children, will remain closed in protest against the beating of four teachers by volunteers from a local peace committee.

Naseer Shah, president of the local chapter of the teachers' union, told Dawn that armed volunteers from the Bazar-Zakhakhel peace committee, who were supported by the local administration, beat Hidayatullah, the director of a government high school in Karamna , and three other teachers when they were returning from school after doing their homework.

He said the four teachers were traveling in a private car and were forcibly detained by armed volunteers of the so-called peace committee after they did not stop at one of their illegally established checkpoints near Karamna.

Shah said his organization filed complaints with the local administration and the head of the Bazaar-Zakhakhel committee, demanding severe measures against volunteers who made mistakes and an unconditional apology from the teachers.

He said that the 25 schools in the area would remain closed until their demands were met since his organization wanted total security for all teaching staff performing tasks in those schools.

Published on Dawn, November 4, 2019