Di khan/Islamabad:
At least six terrorists were killed when security forces stole a massive suicidal attack against a garnish in the southern district volatile of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday night, security sources said in the midst of reports of multiple civil victims in the shameless assault.
The attack on the cliff of Bannu, which involved more than a dozen terrorists, occurs days after a suicide terrorist killed six people, including Maulana Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamait Ulema-E-Islam (Samiul Haq Group), in Darul Ulom Haqqania in Akora Khattak.
Security sources said that Khawarij heavily armed made an abortive attempt to break into Bannu Cantt. However, they panicked out of garrison due to the timely action of the security forces, the sources added. “In a state of panic, the Khawarij crashed two vehicles loaded with explosives on the walls of Bannu Cantt.”
The term Khawarij is used by security forces for Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a prohibited umbrella of terrorist groups responsible for much of violence in the country. The TTP was routed from the old tribal areas as a result of a successful military operation, with a name in Zarb-E-Aazb code, in 2014. Since then, the group has found sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
The explosions caused by vehicles loaded with explosives at the Kohati door torn the roof of a mosque and damaged several houses in the nearby area of Kot Barah, causing multiple civil victims, according to the officials. Several worshipers were trapped under the rubble of the mosque.
“The death toll is now in the twelve years, including five children and two women, while at least another 16 were injured,” said a police officer to the Reuters news agency under anonymity. “The explosions created two four feet craters, and due to their intensity, at least eight houses in the town have been damaged,” added the police officer.
According to Muhammad Nauman, a spokesman for the Bannu medical education institution, five organisms were received in two state hospitals in the district, including three children and two women. He added that an emergency state has been declared in the hospitals in the city.
Security sources said that six Khawarij were neutralized by security personnel at various entry points, and the remaining terrorists have been trapped. “The liquidation operation will continue until all the Khawarij are eliminated,” they added.
The orientation of innocent civilians and the mosque at the time of Iphtar during the sacred month of Ramazan shows that Khawarij has nothing to do with Islam, according to security sources.
The shameless attack has been claimed by an affiliate from the Hafiz Gul Bahadur terrorist group, who enjoys the sanctuaries through the border in Afghanistan. The group carried out a similar deadly attack against the same garrison last July, detonating a vehicle loaded with explosives against the limit wall.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the terrorist attack and praised the security forces for “sending the attackers to hell,” said his office in a statement. “Such attack during Iphtar in the Sacred month of Ramazan is an atrocious act,” he said, adding that the entire nation rejects such dire actions.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also praised the security forces for “sending terrorists to hell” who tried to attack Bannu Cantt. “The cowardly terrorists who attacked innocent civilians during the sacred month of Ramazan do not deserve mercy,” said Prime Minister, said his office in a statement.
Terrorist attacks have shot themselves in Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Last year it was the deadliest in a decade, with an increase in attacks that killed more than 1,600 people, according to the analysis group based in Islamabad, the Center for Research and Security Studies.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul’s Taliban rulers to stop the TTP and its affiliates that are taking refuge in Afghan soil, but the Taliban are still reluctant. A United Nations report revealed last month that the continuous support of the Afghan Taliban for the TTP was feeding the growing attacks of the group in Pakistan.
The revelation was made in the 35th Report of the Analytical and Sanctions Analytical Monitoring Team presented to the UN Security Council, which covers the period from July 1 to December 13, 2024. “The State and the strength of TTP in Afghanistan had not changed, while the group intensified its assaults in Pakistan, making more than 600 attacks during the reported reports, many launched from Afghan Terrager, reports.
He stressed that the Taliban continued to provide TTP with logistics and operational space and financial support, reinforcing the group’s ability to maintain their activities. The report revealed that the family of the TTP chief receives around $ 43,000 per month of the Afghan Taliban.
(With additional desktop contributions and news agencies)
