Peshawar, Sep 2: At least five terrorists were killed on Tuesday after they attacked the headquarters of a paramilitary force in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to officials.
Six policemen were injured in subsequent gunfights with the terrorists.
The militants stormed the Federal Constabulary (FC) Lines in the Bannu district bordering north Waziristan and Afghanistan after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car near its main gate, District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kalachi said.
One of the terrorists was killed by security force personnel in a gunfight.
In subsequent clashes, four more militants were killed in joint operations by the police, paramilitary, and other security personnel.
During the exchange of fire, a Station House Officer (SHO) from the Cantonment Police Station was critically injured, while five other policemen sustained injuries.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Bannu Sajjad Khan visited those injured at the District Headquarters Hospital.
DPO Kalachi, who is supervising the operation, told the media that no act of terrorism will be tolerated in Bannu, declaring: “Terrorists can never be called Muslims.”
Separately, two policemen were killed when terrorists opened fire on them in the province’s Lakki Marwat district, police said.
The area was cordoned off by the police, who launched a massive combing operation to apprehend the terrorists.
Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorism since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire deal with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase attacks.
According to data released by the Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the country witnessed an alarming spike in militant violence in August this year, registering a 74 per cent increase in militant attacks compared to July, becoming the “deadliest month in over a decade“. (PTI)
