Security forces foiled a major terrorist attack on the Police Training College in Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after a six-hour joint operation. The attack left seven police officers martyred and 13 injured, while at least five terrorists, including a suicide bomber, were killed. Express News reported.
The attack began around 8:30 pm on Friday in the Ratta Kulachi area, when heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the training facility. The attackers drove a truck loaded with explosives toward the main gate, causing part of the border wall to collapse and killing an on-duty police officer.
After the explosion, terrorists dressed in mixed uniforms entered the premises and opened indiscriminate fire, Khorasan Dairy reported
“The area has been cleared and further search and clearance operations are underway,” said DPO Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad.
According to police officials, the operation was carried out jointly by the police, the CTD and other security agencies. 13 injured people were taken to the DHQ hospital trauma center where they are receiving treatment.
The Khorasan Diary monitoring team reported that the attackers had body cameras and livestreamed parts of the attack. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially claimed responsibility but later denied involvement.
Read: DG ISPR blames KP failures for rise in terrorism
Muhammad Imran Khan, Director General Public Relations (DGPR) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, said around 200 police recruits and officers present at the training center at the time of the attack were evacuated safely. “All blocks of the school and NADRA office have been cleared,” he said.
During the operation, security forces recovered suicide vests, grenades, explosives and other ammunition from the scene. One of the attackers was reportedly a suicide bomber.
A day earlier, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry held a press conference in Peshawar to address the deteriorating security situation and rising terrorist activity across Pakistan.
He said the country’s counter-terrorism campaign has intensified, with more than 10,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa this year alone, resulting in the elimination of nearly 1,000 militants.
Read more: Jaffar Express attack: all terrorists killed; 21 passengers died before clearance operation: DG ISPR
DG ISPR warned that the increasing involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents has further complicated Pakistan’s security landscape. “Afghanistan is being used as a base to carry out terrorism in Pakistan,” he said, urging the Taliban government to ensure that its territory is not used against Pakistan.
He noted that many militants active in KP had links to Afghanistan and were using abandoned US weapons left after the 2021 withdrawal.
Lt Gen Chaudhry attributed the resurgence of terrorism to governance failures and poor implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). “The vacuum of bad governance is being filled with the blood of martyrs,” he said, highlighting that effective implementation of the NAP and better governance in KP were crucial to defeating militancy.
