Police, security forces hunt fleeing suspects; labourers abducted in South Waziristan
Police and security forces conduct a joint operation in Dera Ismail Khan PHOTO: EXPRESS
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
Three terrorists were killed and several others injured on Thursday in a joint operation by police and security forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, officials said.
Bannu Deputy Inspector General Sajjad Khan said operations were carried out in Akbar Ali Khan Village, Asparka and Domel. He said the operation was supervised on the ground by senior officers, including DIG Khan, Bannu District Police Officer Yasir Afridi and Brigadier Umair Niazi of the 116 Brigade.
Domel lies along the North Waziristan Road, while the other areas are located above the Kohat and Bannu boundaries. All the locations are mountainous, officials said.
Police and security forces conduct a joint operation in Dera Ismail Khan PHOTO: EXPRESS
A search operation is continuing to arrest militants who fled the area. “The terrorists will be brought to justice, and law and order will be maintained at all costs,” DIG Sajjad Khan said.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised police and security forces for what he described as a successful operation against militants belonging to “Fitna al-Khawarij” in the Bannu region. “I pay tribute to the police and security forces for sending three terrorists to hell,” Naqvi said in a statement.
He said the police and security forces had thwarted the militants’ “nefarious designs” through a timely and coordinated operation and lauded their professional capabilities. “Joint actions by the police and security forces for the establishment of peace in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are commendable,” he said.
Read: 5 killed, 20 injured in suicide blast at aman committee member’s house in DI Khan: Rescue 1122
Naqvi added that, with the support of the nation, militants linked to Fitna al-Khawarij – a term the Pakistani authorities use for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants – were being eliminated. “The terrorists will not be allowed to hide anywhere,” he said.
In a separate incident on Thursday, labourers from Dera Ismail Khan were abducted in the Makki area of South Waziristan after unknown armed men attacked an under-construction government checkpost near the local market.
Police sources said two labourers were injured in the attack, while four others were abducted. The injured were shifted to a nearby medical centre, and police have launched investigations to recover the abducted workers.
Security was tightened in and around Makki market following the incident, triggering fear and panic among residents. Police said the abducted labourers were reportedly from Dera Ismail Khan.
The region has seen a series of violent incidents in recent months. On December 24, five people were killed and 10 injured in a suicide blast at the residence of Noor Alam Mehsud, head of a local aman committee, during a wedding ceremony near Qureshi Mor in Dera Ismail Khan.
Read more: DI Khan records 111 terror attacks in five years, 71 police officers martyred
Last month, three police officers were killed in a bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in the district. In November last year, six policemen, including trainees, were martyred and 12 other policemen and one civilian injured in a militant attack on the Police Training School, one of the deadliest incidents in recent years.
Dera Ismail Khan, located at the junction of Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, has long been a focal point of militant violence. Since 2020, the district has recorded 111 attacks, resulting in the deaths of 71 police officers and injuries to 100 others.
Across Pakistan, overall violence rose by more than 25% last year, with at least 3,187 fatalities and 1,981 injuries among civilians, security personnel and criminals, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit province, accounting for nearly 68% of violence-linked fatalities and more than 62% of all incidents. In the province, fatalities during security operations stood at 1,370, exceeding deaths from militant attacks, which totalled 795, highlighting the scale of counterterrorism operations underway.
