Six police officers among 10 injured in car bomb attack at Bannu police station.
MIRANSHAH:
At least two policemen were martyred and 26 people, including 22 policemen, were injured in separate terror attacks in Bannu and Lower Dir districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, as search and clearance operations continued in the affected areas amid heightened security.
In Bannu district, terrorists attacked Miryan police station using an explosive-laden vehicle, injuring six policemen and four civilians. An intense exchange of fire between the attackers and the police continued for several hours after the explosion.
District Police Captain (retd) Muhammad Furqan Bilal confirmed the attack and said the terrorists attempted to ram the explosives-laden vehicle into the police station, triggering a powerful explosion before engaging security personnel in an intense gunfight.
According to Muhammad Nauman, spokesperson for the Bannu district central hospital, six injured police officers and four injured civilians were taken to the hospital. He said all doctors, nurses and paramedical staff were called to provide emergency medical treatment to the injured.
Police sources said security was further tightened following the attack, as large contingents of police, security forces and other law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene. Members of the police peace committee also arrived, while search and evacuation operations were launched to locate the attackers.
Sources said the terrorists had blown up a previously damaged bridge on the road leading to the police station before launching the assault in an apparent attempt to hinder the arrival of reinforcements and rescue teams.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion was heard several kilometers away and damaged the Miryan police station building as well as nearby residential houses. Local residents joined the rescue efforts, helping to pull the injured from the rubble and transporting them to hospital.
The banned Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen organization claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that a vehicle carrying two and a half tonnes of explosives had entered the police station. Police had neither confirmed nor denied the claim at the time of this report.
In a separate incident in Lower Dir, two policemen were martyred and 16 others were injured during a fierce gunfight with terrorists at Haidaray Top, located on the border of Laram and Khal valley areas, according to official sources.
Sources said police agencies were carrying out a search and strike operation in the mountainous areas of Haidaray Top and Kurram after receiving reports about the presence of terrorists when the attackers opened fire on the police.
The exchange of gunfire continued for several hours before subsiding as night fell. The injured were taken to the Timergara district central hospital. Among them were Bakht Badar, Amir Muhammad, Rehanullah, Naseeb Khan, Miftahuddin, Izzatullah, Mehboob Ali, Deputy Sub Inspector Asif Khan, Shahab Khan, Razi Muhammad, Habibul Hassan, Jawadullah, Nawab, Luqman Bahadur and Muhammad Nadeem.
Local residents said the terrorists also set fire to three police vehicles during the clash. They added that the vehicles had been parked in one place as there was no road in the rugged mountainous terrain. The sources said it was not immediately clear whether the terrorists had suffered casualties in the retaliatory action.
Search and clearance operations were continuing in both districts at the time of last reports, while security remained on high alert. The police had not issued any official statement regarding the Lower Dir incident.
(WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUR TIMERGARA CORRESPONDENT)
