Election campaigners gunned down in DI Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unknown gunmen killed two men and injured three others in Dera Ismail Khan Monday morning, Geo News reported.

The attackers ambushed a car carrying workers of independent candidate Abdul Rahim Burki in Dera Ismail Khan district, police chief Khalid Sohail said.

"The assailants opened fire on the car, its driver lost control and the vehicle hit a roadside tree," Sohail told.

"Two workers were killed and three wounded," he said, adding that the gunmen fled on a motorbike.

Another police official confirmed the attack and the fatalities and said the injured workers were out of danger.

Burki is contesting a seat in South Waziristan tribal district, which is under military control. Most of the population fled after a military operation expelled Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

He told that more than 80 percent of his voters were living in Dera Ismail Khan and nearby Tank districts, though their votes will count in the South Waziristan constituency.

Burki said the car was clearly identified as connected to his campaign but he had no idea who the attackers were.

"This is my first election. I have no party affiliation and I received no threats from any group so far," he told.

"It appears they had been waiting to target the vehicle."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Taliban militants have vowed to target secular parties running in the May 11 general elections and attacks in the northwest over the weekend left one person dead and four wounded.