Suspected militants in South Waziristan late on Friday kidnapped a senior Pakistan Army officer and three others, officials said on Saturday. Colonel Shahid Kiyani of Bajaur Scouts, two soldiers and an administration official were seized at gunpoint in the town of Ladha.
"They were on way to a seminary to meet with some religious leaders when gunmen in two vehicles intercepted them," local administration chief Rasool Khan told AFP. He said that local authorities and tribal elders were trying to secure the release of the kidnapped officials through talks with the leaders of the powerful Mehsud tribe.
The authorities were also trying to free 15 paramilitary soldiers kidnapped earlier this month in the same region. Militants beheaded one of them two weeks ago. In neighbouring North Waziristan, meanwhile, three tribesmen were killed on Saturday when an army attack helicopter fired on a vehicle after shots were fired at an army convoy from a hotel. Local officials said the convoy came under fire near the town of Mir Ali, but there were no casualties or damage.