Peshawar, February 26 Two police officers, both brothers, were abducted and later killed by militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Bannu district when armed militants stormed a mosque during Taraveh prayers and kidnapped three brothers, two of whom were serving police officers.
Police said the two officers were later killed, and their bodies were dumped along the Marwat Canal Road, while the third brother, a clerk at the commissioner's office, remains in the custody of the kidnappers.
Security forces have launched a search operation to rescue the third captive.
Witnesses said that 10 to 12 armed men entered the mosque, took worshippers hostage, and abducted the three before fleeing to an unknown location.
Local chairman Masoom Wazir said he received information about two bodies and found both victims lying in blood at the scene. The bodies were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital.
Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan said the kidnappers were affiliated with a militant group and that a full-scale operation had been launched against them.
"We will bring the perpetrators to justice at all costs," he said, adding that police and other security agencies were jointly conducting search operations at multiple locations to recover the third abducted individual.
He said that militant elements had previously used mosques as hideouts, but security forces continued operations to protect places of worship and ensure the safety of citizens.
Funeral prayers were offered with full state honors for the two slain police officers at the Police Lines in Bannu on Thursday.
The ceremony was attended by senior police and civil administration officials, including Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Faheem Khan, along with a large number of police personnel and local residents.
Earlier, on February 21, a lieutenant colonel and a sepoy were killed in a suicide attack during an intelligence-based operation in the district.
Bannu has witnessed a series of security incidents in recent months, with civilians and security personnel repeatedly targeted, prompting intensified counter-terror operations.