According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan, a terrorist attack on a security forces post in North Waziristan province resulted in the deaths of seven soldiers, including two officers. The subsequent clearance operation also resulted in the elimination of six terrorists. The media affairs branch of the military claimed that early on 16th March six terrorists attacked a security force position in the Mir Ali neighbourhood of the North Waziristan district.
ISPR mentioned, “As own troops foiled the initial attempt of intrusion, the terrorists rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the post, followed by multiple suicide bombing attacks, which led to the collapse of a portion of a building, resulting into shahadat (martyrdom) of five brave sons of the soil.” The military didn’t name the insurgent group responsible for the attack.
It added, “During the conduct of the ensuing clearance operation, own troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Kashif, effectively engaged and killed all six terrorists. However, during the intense exchange of fire, leading his troops from the front, Lieutenant Colonel Syed Kashif Ali (age:39 years, resident of Karachi) and Captain Muhammad Ahmed Badar (age:23 years, resident of District Talagang), having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.”
As per the media wing of the military, the purpose of the sanitization operation is to eradicate any potential terrorists from the area, “as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.” The residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan’s Waziristan, a district bordering Afghanistan conveyed that an explosion during the attack rattled doors and broke windows.
The volatile Dera Ismail Khan province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) witnessed a fierce assault in early February that resulted in the death of at least 10 policemen, including members of an elite group. Officials reported that scores of terrorists used sniper rifles to attack the Chaudhwan police station, which is situated in the Daraban tehsil of the district. Reuters stated that the attack began at about three in the morning.
“More than 30 terrorists launched the attack from three directions. There was an exchange of fire for over two-and-a-half hours,” KP provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Gandapur told AFP. Later, the assailants broke into the building and opened fire with hand grenades and automatic firearms, killing ten police officers and injuring at least six more. The station house officer (SHO) of the Chaudhwan police station, however, remained uninjured.
Attacks have increased recently, according to Pakistani government and security sources. Many of the incidents have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and originated in Afghanistan. This has strained ties between Pakistan and the Taliban, who control Afghanistan but deny allowing extremists to use their country.
Pakistan experienced 1,524 violence-related deaths and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror incidents and counter-terror operations in 2023, a record six-year high, according to an annual security report published by the Centre for Research and Security Studies. The two provinces that accounted for the majority of the violence, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, accounted for nearly 90% of all deaths and 84% of attacks, including acts of terrorism and security forces operations.
