Unidentified gunmen shot dead six people in two attacks on Tuesday which authorities said were aimed at igniting sectarian unrest in Kohat. The first attack in the garrison town of Kohat left three dead and another two injured, who belonged to Shia community and was followed by a shooting at a hotel in neighbouring Hangu district, police and local officials said.
Two members of Shia community and one of Sunni community were killed in the Hangu attack and nine were wounded, police officer Sajjad Ahmed told AFP. "The attacks are designed to spur sectarian violence in the region," Hangu district mayor Khan Afzal told AFP. Police said the authorities have closed traffic on Hangu Kohat Road and a curfew has also been enforced in nearby Darra Adamkhel.