CHILAS: Three local residents were killed and another wounded after a vehicle was fired upon near Thore Nala on Saturday, as a security operation against alleged militants in the Thore Valley of Diamer entered its second day.
The deceased were identified as Muhammad, son of Ghazi Khan; Sawal Noor, son of Khazan; and Sher Alam, son of Anwar Khan. A fourth person, Shukurdin, son of Sawal Noor, was brought to the Regional Headquarters Hospital Chilas for treatment; hospital administration said his condition was out of danger and he had been shifted to the ward after emergency care. The bodies of the three deceased were also taken to the hospital, where post-mortem procedures and other legal formalities were completed before they were handed over to the families and dispatched to their native areas.
According to relatives of the victims, the car was travelling from Thore Nala towards Chilas city, transporting a person injured in an earlier incident in Thore, when it was fired upon. The family alleged that the vehicle was being signalled to stop at a checkpoint and came under fire in what they described as a misunderstanding. Following the deaths, family members blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in protest. The highway was reopened after negotiations with the local administration.
In a separate development earlier in the day, two police personnel were injured when, according to police sources, a security forces vehicle came under fire during the clearance operation. A local civilian was also reported wounded in what police described as crossfire during the exchange of fire.
In a statement, the Gilgit-Baltistan Police said two suspected militants were killed and two others injured during an exchange of fire in the Gabar area of Thore.
The operation was launched after recent incidents in which three police personnel were killed in the area. Police said several suspected militant hideouts had been destroyed during the operation, with shelters set on fire and explosive materials used to demolish what they described as militant bases. Police also said opium crops found in the area had been destroyed during the operation.
