LAKKI MARWAT: The security forces and police jointly carried out a crackdown on militants near Lakki Marwat city for the second consecutive day on Friday.

Official sources told Dawn that the security and law-enforcement agencies besieged the dense forest along the Kurram River after receiving intelligence information about presence of militants.

They said heavy weapons were used against militants, while their hideouts were pounded by Cobra helicopters.

The sources said the operation was carried out in Ihsanpur area on the northern side of the Kurram River and in Kaichi Kamar village on the river’s southern side. They said militants had established hideouts in the dense forest and used them after carrying out attacks on police and other law-enforcement agencies in the district.

The military’s media wing, ISPR, didn’t issue any statement about the operation.

A surge in terrorist attacks against police was reported in Kurram Par area, which borders Karak and Mianwali districts, in recent months.

In Nov 2022, two security personnel and six policemen were martyred and two injured in a militant attack near Wanda Shahabkhel locality in Kurram Par and Wanda Pashan areas.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2023