MIRANSHAH: Four workers of an oil and gas exploration company were shot dead after being abducted from the Speen Wam area of North Waziristan on Tuesday. The workers – including a foreman, a driver, an FC security guard and a labourer – belonged to Maripur Oil and Gas Exploration Company. They were shot by unidentified armed men and left to die in a vehicle which was also set on fire. The workers had been abducted while on their way to a field, according to the North Waziristan deputy commissioner. He said that security forces had started a search operation, but before they could find them, the abductees had been killed. Separately, two security personnel were injured in an armed attack on a security check post at Khola tehsil. Security forces had cordoned off the area and a search operation was underway. However, there were no reports of any arrest. Moreover, a former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Syed Khan Wazir alias Iqbal was seriously injured as a bomb went off near his vehicle in Miranshah area of North Waziristan. Just months back, Iqbal had surrendered to the security forces. Published in Daily Times, October 24th 2018.