PESHAWAR: Police in northwest Pakistan have made a string of arrests as they search for the killer of a two-year-old girl whose rape and murder have drawn comparisons to an infamous 2018 killing that sparked riots. The girl, Zainab, disappeared Tuesday while playing outside her village home in Charsadda district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Her body was discovered a day later, prompting a large-scale manhunt that by Saturday had led to the arrests of at least 17 men, district police chief Muhammad Shoaib told AFP. Additionally, police took DNA samples from about 400 people, he said. "Initial medical reports have confirmed the minor girl was raped before murder," Shoaib said.