DERA ISMAIL KHAN/PESHAWAR: Five police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) officials were martyred and as many militants were killed in two attacks on law enforcement agencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank and Khyber districts on Friday.

In the first attack, militants equipped with modern weapons stormed police headquarters in the KP’s southern district of Tank. Officials said the militants, including a suicide bomber, tried to enter the police office.

In the ensuing gun battle, three police officials were martyred and five militants were killed.

A statement issued by the military’s media wing ISPR confirmed that militants had attempted to attack the police lines in Tank city.

Five militants killed in gun battle in Tank district

“Policemen offered stiff resistance. Security forces in the vicinity were immediately mobilised to support the police force and in the ensuing operation, all five terrorists were killed,” it said in a statement.

It added that during an intense exchange of fire between security forces and militants, three police personnel also embraced martyrdom.

“The effective response of the policemen is a testament to their unrelenting resolve in the fight against terrorism. Pakistan’s security forces stand shoulder to shoulder with other law enforcement agencies to ensure peace and stability in the country,” the ISPR said.

Local police officials said that the gunfight continued for hours until afternoon.

Khyber attack

The second incident took place in Khyber district when militants attacked a joint checkpoint of police and Frontier Constabulary at around 3:30 on Friday morning, officials said.

Two FC personnel were martyred and six others, along with a policeman, were injured in the incident.

“The militants attacked the checkpoint in the Nala Khwarh area of Khyber district,” a senior police district Khyber police official told Dawn, adding that the militants managed to escape under cover of darkness.

Friday’s attacks came two days after the year’s deadliest attack on security, in which at least 23 army soldiers were martyred and more than 30 troops wounded after militants stormed a compound used by the military in Dera Ismail Khan’s Daraban area in the early hours of Tuesday.

In that attack, six militants who stormed the building were killed. Separately, two military operations in Darazinda and Kolachi resulted in the death of 21 militants and claimed the lives of two soldiers.

A day later, the interim government in Afghanistan promised to investigate the attack in Pakistan but also asked Islamabad to refrain from blaming Kabul for every problem.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2023