KP Police. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
PESHAWAR:
Two policemen and a security guard were martyred in separate firing incidents in Bannu on Monday, authorities said Express Pakinomist.
The first attack took place outside a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in the Baka Khel area, where armed gunmen opened fire on security personnel. Two officers, Constable Rafiullah and Security Guard Gul Shah Noor, were killed on the spot.
A heavy police presence arrived shortly after the incident, but the attackers managed to escape. The bodies of the officers were transferred to the district headquarters hospital in Bannu for post-mortem.
In a separate incident near Miryan Kinger police station, another police officer, Sher Muhammad, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. Authorities have launched a massive search and checkpoint operation across the district in response to the attacks.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the incidents and paid tribute to the victims, saying “the people of the province share the grief of the families of the martyrs.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the attacks. “Guard Gul Shah Noor and Constable Rafiullah achieved the great status of martyrdom while performing their duty,” he said, adding that “by sacrificing their lives in the line of duty, both personnel set a high example of bravery.”
Read: 37 terrorists were killed as border attacks averted
On Friday, five people, including women and a child, were martyred and several others injured, including at least one police officer, in a suicide attack targeting Domel police station in Bannu. Initial reports indicate that terrorists tried to ram a car loaded with approximately 1,000 to 1,500 kg of explosives into the wall of the Domel police station, but after failing to breach it, detonated the explosives in a nearby civilian area.
Authorities said effective defensive measures prevented the attacker from breaching the police station. However, the explosion in the nearby civilian area resulted in civilian casualties.
In another attack on police last week, seven persons, including three policemen, were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Sarai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat in KP, targeting a police vehicle near a vegetable market.
KP has been fighting terrorism since the US’s ouster from Afghanistan, with terrorists often crossing the border to target police convoys and vehicles, resulting in the deaths of several officials and personnel.
Read more: Pak questions experts on TTP presence in Afghanistan
Last month, at least seven policemen, including the station house officer of Shadi Khel police station, were martyred in an IED blast near a police mobile in Lakki Marwat. A week before that, two policemen were killed and 15 people, including five policemen, were injured in an IED blast in the Rustam Bazaar area of Wana in Lower South Waziristan.
The province has witnessed an increase in terrorist attacks, accounting for the highest number of incidents in the country. Out of a total of 5,397 incidents reported last year, KP recorded 3,811, followed by Balochistan with 1,557 incidents. Only 29 incidents were reported from the rest of the country. A total of 2,597 terrorists were killed during the year.
