Ten tribesmen including chieftain Mir Zalam Khan of Yargulkhel tribe were gunned down in South Waziristan in three different incidents on Friday, announced officials and tribal elders. Mir Zalam, two of his brothers and his son and nephew were sprayed with bullets near their home on their way to Wana bazaar, regional deputy administrator Mir Abbas Khan told Daily Times by phone from Wana.Twenty members of the Ganghikhel tribe were taken into custody under the âterritorial responsibilityâ clause of Frontier Crimes Regulation law after the killings, the deputy administrator said. âMasked gunmen machine-gunned the vehicle in which Mir Zalam and his family members were traveling. They all died on the spot,â an eyewitness said. âThe attackers fled after killing the men.â No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, nor did the deputy administrator blame any group. Tribal elders were unwilling to blame either the Al Qaeda or Taliban for fear of reprisals.
| That tells me who dunnit right there... |
A tribal elder, after attending the funeral of the deceased, told Daily Times that the killing had a âdevastating effectâ on the local population and the âsituation had gone out of government controlâ. The latest murders, considered by many to be targeted killings, are part of a spree that started last year. The violence has spread terror among the local Wazir tribesmen in Wana. The other tribesmen killed were Malik Khandan, his son Musa Khan and close friend Haji Muhammad Omar in Karama in Ladah sub-division, northeast of Wana. Khandan was recently elected to the Agency Council, which was formed by the government after the 9/11 incident to democratise the tribal areas. In Karama region, Tribal Lashkar âGeneralâ Taj Muhammad was killed and his body was found in an abandoned compound. Another tribesman died of bullet wounds in the same area. His name could not be ascertained.