In three overnight attacks in Pakistan’s perilous northwest, terrorists targeted Pakistani security personnel, leading to shootouts that resulted in the deaths of three troops and seven terrorists. The attacks, which began late on Thursday night in Lakki Marwat, a region in the Afghanistan-bordering province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), lasted for many hours.
According to a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a suicide bomber riding a motorbike detonated himself in the vicinity of a security forces camp within the Government Postgraduate College in the first strike. Afterwards, there was a fierce firefight in which four militants were neutralised.
The military’s media wing informed that the other two incidents occurred in the district’s Amir Kalam and Tajbi Khel areas and that another three terrorists, including a key commander Musa Khan, were killed. It also mentioned that weapons and ammunition were seized from their possessions.
In a statement released by their spokesman, Mulla Mohammad Qasim, Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan, a newly surfaced organisation, took credit for the ambush.
The attacks were reported on Thursday night, but military or security services didn’t issue any official statement regarding the instances or the number of casualties. ISPR allegedly thwarted all of the assaults in a short span of time.
The slain soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Taj Mir, 40, resident of Nowshera district, Havaldar Zakir Ahmed, 38, from Abbottabad and Sepoy Abid Hussain, 29, from Dera Ismail Khan district.
“Sanitisation of the areas is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the military proclaimed.
The attack followed the twin bombings that took place late on Monday, within a 12-minute span and killed 17, including six police officers. The blasts occurred at an anti-terrorism police station at Kabal, Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which housed the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and a mosque.
Officials have established a fact-finding committee and begun an investigation into the instance, despite some media reports suggesting that it was a suicide attack.
Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for KP, told the media during a visit to the blast scene that preliminary evidence indicated the explosions were not the result of terrorism and happened after explosives kept in a police depot caught fire. There were also no signs of a forced entrance or gunshots, he added.
The army has launched a new offensive against terrorists in response to a recent uptick in attacks, including the bombing of a Peshawar mosque that left over 100 people dead and the onslaught on the building of the Karachi Police Chief (KPO).
