3 killed as gunmen fire at protesters in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

Peshawar: Unknown gunmen fired at a gathering protesting against counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan's northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, leaving three dead and many injured, a top official said.

A day earlier, a mortar strike claimed the life of a girl in the Zakha Khel area of the Khyber District, sparking the Sunday demonstration, during which locals placed the girl's body in front of the Momand Ghuz security checkpoint.

Suhail Afridi, the special assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, said three people died and eight were injured in the firing by terrorists on the demonstrators in the Tirah Valley.

Following the incident, the grieving families and residents of the area staged a protest by blocking the Tank-South Waziristan Road, and demanded immediate identification and action against those responsible for the killings.

Afridi said, "Following the girl's death on Saturday, locals staged a protest in front of the Frontier Corps compound today. They had gathered near he gates when shots were fired." "I spoke to district officials who told me that terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij fired at the protesters," he said, using the term designating members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Meanwhile، Inspector General of Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North), Major General Rao Imran Sartaj, visited the injured at the Frontier Corps Teaching Hospital.

During the visit, the injured people provided Major General Sartaj with detailed accounts of the attack and expressed satisfaction with the medical treatment being provided.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province expressed deep sorrow and regret over the Tirah incident.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced compensation of Rs 10 million for the kin of each deceased and Rs 2.5 million for each injured individual.