Nine people, including four cops, were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in the Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday, according to police.
Security forces killed 13 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on March 30, the military's media wing said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in Mangal village, where armed men opened fire, leaving six dead. The injured were rushed to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Paroa for treatment. According to SHO Samar Abbas, the clash was linked to a dispute over the snatching and recovery of three motorcycles, reportedly stolen at gunpoint on Monday night.
Police said members of the Istrana tribe had gone to a Marwat tube well in Mangal village to recover the stolen motorcycles, and an exchange of words with rivals escalated into gunfire. Among the deceased was Altaf Khan Istrana, brother of local Pakistan Peoples Party activist Sharbat Khan Istrana.
The main suspect, Zulfiqar Marwat, fled the scene after the attack but was later killed in a police encounter. According to a police spokesperson, a team under Superintendent of Police Murtaza Khan surrounded the suspect following a tip-off.
After an exchange of fire, Marwat was found dead at the scene, along with a Kalashnikov rifle. Authorities said a search operation has been launched in the area, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects
In February, at least two officials were martyred and three others injured after terrorists attacked a police station and a nearby customs camp in K-P’s Dera Ismail Khan district at 1:30am on Tuesday, police said.
According to a police spokesperson on Wednesday, an unknown number of unidentified armed men suddenly opened fire on Yark Police Station, resulting in the martyrdom of Constable Bilal at the scene.
Two other officers, Constables Umar Ali and Khayal Muhammad, were injured and were immediately transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment.
In another incident, five police personnel, including Station House Officer Fahim Mumtaz Khan Marwat, were martyred while a deputy superintendent of police and his driver were critically injured during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Wanda Budh area of Paharpur tehsil in Dera Ismail Khan.
The incident occurred when a police party, acting on intelligence about militant presence, came under heavy fire from terrorists lying in ambush. Police retaliated, leading to a prolonged gun battle that left Constables Tauqeer, Irfan, Ghulam Subhani and Wajahat among the fallen.
DSP Hafiz Muhammad Adnan Khan and his driver sustained critical injuries and were shifted to hospital, while security was heightened and a search operation launched to track down the attackers.
Security forces killed 13 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on March 30, the military's media wing said on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operations were carried out after reports of the presence of terrorists belonging to the Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij, which is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to the ISPR, one operation was conducted in Khyber district, where troops “effectively engaged the khwarijs’ location and after an intense fire exchange, ten khwarij were sent to hell".
In a separate operation in Bannu district, three terrorists were killed during an exchange of fire, the statement said. "Sanitisation operations were ongoing to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area," it added.
The ISPR said that the counter-terrorism campaign under the vision Azm-e-Istehkam, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.
The Apex Committee of the National Action Plan, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in June 2024, approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam to eliminate terrorism and extremism across the country. The operation aims to eradicate extremism and terrorism decisively and comprehensively.
It will coordinate and align efforts across multiple fronts to address the threats, while intensifying efforts to curb terrorist activities through regional cooperation within the political and diplomatic spheres.
President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Shehbaz have commended security forces for eliminating 13 khawarij in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
In separate statements, they reaffirmed the nation’s unwavering resolve to eradicate foreign-backed terrorism.
The president said operations against terrorists would continue to ensure national security and the protection of the people, while the prime minister said the security forces stand like a solid wall against terrorism in defence of the country.
Nine people, including four cops, were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in the Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday, according to police.
District police spokesperson Qudratullah Khan told that the explosion occurred on the busy Bannu-DI Khan Road near a fruit and vegetable market.
He said that according to initial information, the attackers targeted a police patrol party from the Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station.
The spokesperson said Head Constable Waheedullah and Constables Syed Anwar, Hadiullah and Ikramullah were injured in the explosion.
He said that the van the police party had been patrolling in was also damaged in the explosion.
Giving details about the exact nature and cause of the explosion, he said that terrorists had fitted an IED to a motorcycle to target the police van that was passing through the area.
According to the police official, a total of nine people were injured. He identified the rest as 16-year-old Fidaullah, eight-year-old Zahidullah, 13-year-old Yasir, 55-year-old Suleman and Mujeeb.
According to local residents, some shops and vehicles that were parked near the site of the incident had also been damaged in the explosion. They said that the blast also damaged a power transmission line in the congested urban locality.
Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan, meanwhile, visited the injured at the hospital and directed the administration to provide them with the best possible medical treatment, according to a statement.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that such cowardly acts by terrorists would not shatter the resolve of the police force. He said that police were fully prepared and committed to foil the nefarious plans of the enemies of peace.
The incident took place around two weeks after an attack on a police vehicle in Lakki Marwat’s Bettani subdivision, in which seven cops, including an officer, were martyred.
According to police, an improvised explosive device was used in the incident to target a squad of the Shadikhel police station while it was on routine patrol.
Six policemen, including a station house officer and five constables, lost their lives in the incident.