In fresh video four Pak atomic body employees appeal for release
Peshawar, June 30: In a newly surfaced video, which went viral on Monday, four employees of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), abducted in January from northwest Pakistan, have appealed to authorities for their safe release from TTP captivity. The video purportedly shows the hostages urging the government to meet the abductors’ demands. One of the captives, Hafiz Bashir Ahmed, urged the authorities to take immediate steps to secure their freedom. The captives were among 17 PAEC employees kidnapped on January 9 while en route to the Qabul Khel Atomic Energy mining project in Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the abduction and released a video featuring the hostages appealing to authorities to meet the group’s demands, which reportedly include the release of TTP prisoners held in Pakistani jails. Since the abduction, eight hostages have been rescued, three released by the abductors, and one was found dead in the Zareefwaal area of Lakki Marwat. Another hostage was handed over to his family by the Taliban on Sunday. Four employees remain in captivity. (PTI)
Death toll in rain related incidents rises to 45 in Pakistan
Islamabad, June 30: Another seven people were killed in the past 24 hours in rain related incidents in Pakistan, bringing the death toll to 45, according to official data released on Monday. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in its latest update said seven more people died, including four in Balochistan, two in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Punjab. It said 68 people have been injured since the pre-monsoon spell of rains began on June 26. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan was the worst hit with 21 casualties, according to the NDMA website. It said another 13 people were killed in Punjab, seven in Sindh, and four died in Balochistan province. (PTI)
Gunman starts blaze, shoots 2 firefighters in ambush attack
Boise (US), June 30: A man armed with a rifle started a wildfire and then began shooting at first responders in a northern Idaho mountain community, killing two firefighters and wounding a third during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said. A shelter-in-place order was lifted Sunday night after a tactical response team used cellphone data to “hone in” on a wooded area where they found the suspect’s body with a firearm nearby as flames rapidly approached, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said. Investigators said he acted alone. The suspect has been identified as Wess Roley, a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to discuss the investigation. “We do believe that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.” Sheriff’s officials said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene around 1:30 pm Sunday, and gunshots were reported about a half hour later. (AP)