Two sons of a well-known tribal elder were killed, and a passerby was injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on a motorcycle in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower South Waziristan on Friday.

The deceased were identified as Naveed Wazir and Moinuddin Wazir, sons of Malik Jamil Wazir. According to police, the brothers were on their way from their home to the market when they were ambushed by the attackers, who fired indiscriminately before fleeing the scene.

Wana Deputy Superintendent of Police Asghar Ali Shah confirmed that both victims died on the spot. The injured passerby, along with the bodies, was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana for treatment.

Read: Constable killed by gunmen near his home in Lakki Marwat

A case was registered at the City Police Station Wana and an investigation was launched. Police initiated a search operation to apprehend the attackers.

Police sources noted that Malik and his family had been the targets of multiple attacks in the past. On September 9 last year, a remote-controlled bomb explosion near Kari Kot Bazaar killed one of his sons and injured Malik along with three others.

Local tribal elders and community leaders strongly condemned the incident and urged the government and security forces to take immediate and effective measures to curb the rising wave of violence in the region and restore lasting peace.

The region has witnessed a surge in targeted killings, bomb blasts, kidnappings for ransom, and attacks on security forces over the past 18 months, raising serious concerns among residents.