Five National Radio Telecommunication Corp workers taken hostage in Bannu abduction

BANNU: Five workers of the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) were abducted by unidentified armed men in Bannu while they were engaged in project work, according to police sources.

The incident occurred in the Mamash Khel area within the limits of Cantt police station. Police sources said the workers were laying communication cables when armed men arrived at the site and took them away at gunpoint. The abductors then moved to an undisclosed location, triggering fear and panic in the area.

The abducted workers were identified as Mohammad Ali, Zahid Khan, Ghulam Sadiq, Noor Habib and Wahidullah. All five belong to Bajaur and were working on a government-linked development scheme intended to improve communication infrastructure in the region.

Following the abduction, security forces and law enforcement agencies launched a large-scale search operation along with intelligence-based efforts to locate the missing workers. Authorities are also investigating the incident from multiple angles in an effort to identify and arrest those involved.

School building hit in separate incident

In another incident in Bannu, terrorists used explosives to blow up a government high school in the Hakumat Mamandkhel area.

Sources said the blast caused extensive damage to the school building. However, no casualties were reported.

Security forces later cordoned off the area and began an investigation into the explosion.

The two incidents were reported from Bannu amid continuing security concerns in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the abduction case, police sources said the workers had been carrying out technical work related to communications infrastructure when they were seized by armed men. The search for the abducted employees was launched immediately after the incident.

Officials have not publicly shared further details about the identity of the attackers or the location to which the workers were taken. The investigation into the school blast is also under way, with authorities examining the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Police sources said the abduction took place during work on a communications project, while the separate bombing targeted a government educational institution in another part of the district. Both incidents are being handled by security and law enforcement agencies.