Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: At least three policemen were injured in a terrorist attack at a police picket in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Reports said, “As per District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Shoaib, the terrorists fired rockets and began heavy firing at the Takwara outpost of Kalachi police station in Dera Ismail Khan, injuring four officials. However, The terrorists were forced to flee following the police’s retaliatory firing. Several of the terrorist’s accomplices were killed and injured.
According to law enforcement agencies, “this is the biggest terrorist attack on any police post in the history of DI Khan”.
Around 20 terrorists surrounded the checkpost on three sides and started firing, using modern weapons, including PG-7 rockets and grenades.
After the incident, security across the district, including Kalachi, has been tightened. DPO Khan said that the police “will not let the terrorists’ ambitions succeed at any cost”.
According to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), three policemen were injured in the gunfight. The injured were rushed to the hospital. Security in Dera Ismail Khan was beefed up after the attack.
Earlier on October 30, a policeman and a civilian were martyred and four other policemen got injured as terrorists attacked the Daraban police check post in DI Khan.
On December 28, five soldiers were wounded in a suicide bombing attack on a security check post in the Ipi area in Mir Ali tehsil in North Waziristan.
According to the report, a vehicle loaded with explosives was used by the suicide bomber. This vehicle was rammed into the wall of the security check post. Following the incident, the area was closed, and a search operation was launched.
The News International report said the wounded sepoys Sajid, Zakir Shah, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Usman Ghani and Ahsan Naseer, who sustained injuries, were rushed to the hospital. No terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
A powerful car bomb detonated in a residential area in Pakistan’s capital on December 23, killing two suspected militants and an officer, police said, raising fears that militants have a presence in one of the country’s safest cities. At least three police officers and seven passers-by were wounded in the bombing.
The bombing in Pakistan’s capital city took place nine miles from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home of the military and government spy agencies. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the explosion. The Islamabad Police declared a ‘red alert’ in the city shortly after the blast.
The law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has severely deteriorated over the past few weeks as an increase has been noticed in threats and attacks on security personnel as well as high-profile political personalities, reported the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).
This comes after the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on November 28, ended its ceasefire agreement with Pakistan. After a recent spike in attacks, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police are on high alert.
Attacks have increased in Peshawar, southern districts, and the region of Mardan. Bajaur, Peshawar, Mohmand, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Bannu, Kohat, and Nowshera were the worst affected regions in November.
“Reportedly, since the ceasefire took effect, the TTP has built up noteworthy forces in the Bajaur, Khyber, and North and South Waziristan districts bordering Afghanistan, traversing villages and opening offices. From there, TTP militants fanned out across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, first appearing in Dir and Swat in groups of 10-15 militants in August 2022,” according to a report by IFFRAS.
