Peshawar:
The terrorists held 13 attacks during the night and grenades against the police in several districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in which at least six police officers hugged martyrdom, authorities said Thursday.
Many of these attacks were rejected when the police defended themselves, inflicting injuries to the attackers, while the Department of Terrorism (CTD), in an intelligence -based operation (IBO), killed three terrorists in Peshawar.
Night attacks were against police stations, control points and patrols in seven districts of the province, Mohammad Ali Babakhel told Reuters to Reuters. The attacks occurred when the nation celebrated its 78th Independence Day.
The wave of unprecedented violence hit multiple districts, including Peshawar, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Shangla and Bannu, in what officials described as an attempt to challenge the order of the State on the eve of Independence Day.
The militants used grenade launchers propelled by rocket (RPG) in some of the attacks, Babakhel said, added that six officers were martyred and nine other injured. The provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed later said the deaths occurred in two incidents.
“Of the 13, we inflict losses in them, we reject them and force them to flee in nine, 10 incidents,” said Hameed, Inspector (IG) of the KP Police, to journalists after attending the funerals of the police in the Dir district.
The most severe attack occurred in the Panah Kot area of the Upper Dir, where three police officers hugged martyrdom after their mobile truck was ambushed. Six others were injured in the incident.
The neighboring district Lower Dir witnessed two separate attacks at police control points in Maidan, Lajbok and Shadas. Agent Sanaullah was martyred in Lajbok, while agent Sultan Zeeen was injured in Shadas, police said.
In the areas of Bannu Miryan and Manganga, the terrorists fired an RPG-7 at the police control points, but the officers returned the fire, forcing the assailants to flee without inflicting casualties, police said.
Similarly, in the remote area of Choga de Shangla, the attackers attacked a police station around 1:30 am, but the night vision team and rapid reinforcement alerts allowed the police to repel the assault. The sources said a militant was injured.
In the provincial capital, the terrorists reached two police control points in Matni and Nasir Bagh, as well as at the Hassan Khel police station. Agent Jahangir Khan was martyred and another wounded officer in Hassan Khel’s attack.
Later, the CTD said that three Fitna al-Khawarij, a term used for the illegal Tehreek-E-Taliban (TTP), the terrorists were killed in an IBO supported by the local police in the Regi Lalma area on Wednesday night.
“The suspects had been under continuous technical surveillance, with researchers who traced their movements and confirmed their identities through electronic footprints,” he said in a statement.
“Acting on the intelligence of an imminent terrorist strike in the border area of Khyber-Peshawar, a SWAT CTD team intercepted the group. The militants opened indiscriminate fire, which caused a precise response that left the three dead in the place,” he added.
He identified one of the dead terrorists as Abdullah aka Jawad, an Afghan citizen, already wanted the police in one case. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed, while a search for their accomplices fleeing were underway.
The CTD declared that preliminary investigation links the gang with at least 18 terrorist incidents in the Peshawar district in the past in which almost two dozen police and citizens were martyred.
The weapons and explosives recovered from the site included an M4 rifle, an M16 rifle, an SMG, an improvised explosive device of 2.5 kg (FDI), a manual profitability, four smartphones, 125 rounds of assorted ammunition and six magazines, the statement added.
The authorities said that the group was part of a cell linked to TTP, which operates under foreign managers, with active plans to increase attacks against security forces, infrastructure and pro-state individuals.
The CTD praised the operation as a demonstration of “unwavering commitment, operational precision and coordination between agencies” by dismantling terrorist networks and safeguarding peace in the region.
The elements of Fitna al-Khawarij also shot at a police party near Nasir Bagh, but the timely action prevented victims, “said the KP police.” The assaults of Matni and Nasir Bagh were frustrated, forcing the attackers to retire. “
The IG praised the professionalism and courage of the police force, noting that 80% of the attacks had been frustrated despite the scale of the assault. “The enemy sought to eclipse the celebrations of August 14, but our brave soldiers remained firm,” he said.
During a visit to Upper Dir, Hameed attended the funeral prayers for martyred staff. He also attended funeral prayers for agent Jhangir Khan in Malik Shaheed Police Lines in Peshawar.
Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned attacks as “cowardly acts” aimed at demoralizing the police, assured support to the families of the martyrs and promised that their sacrifices “will be remembered in history.”
(With contributions from Reuters)
