Driver killed in school van ambush in Hangu
* Armed men kidnap five students
* Kohat-Hangu road closed for traffic
HANGU: At least one person was killed and two students injured on Friday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a school van in Hangu district.
Locals said the assailants, who struck near Bahadar Banada area on the main Hangu-Kohat road, also abducted five students.
They said a school van was carrying children to Al-Asar Academy in Astarzai when the gunmen attacked it, killing its driver, Asghar Ali, and injuring two students - Irfan and Zafar. The locals claimed that at least three people had been killed and eight taken hostage, but government officials denied the claim.
Police immediately closed the Hangu-Kohat road for all kinds of traffic and cordoned off the area to launch a search operation to recover the abducted children. The Pakistan Army was assisting the police. Hangu DPO Sajjad Khan said the police had recovered a student, Zarin Haider, from the abductors. He said the abductors were still holding four school children and efforts for their safe recovery were underway.
Daily Times
