LAKKI MARWAT/BAJAUR: At least seven security officials, including an army captain, were martyred after an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted their vehicle in Lakki Marwat on Sunday, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police repulsed a pre-dawn ambush at their checkpost in Bajaur.

Local officials said the vehicle was on its way to the Kaichi Kamar area when it came under attack near Sultankhel village, an area bordering Punjab’s Mianwali district.

“An improvised explosive device exploded on vehicle of security forces in Lakki Marwat District,” read a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The military’s media wing said that 26-year-old Captain Muhammad Faraz Ilyas, a resident of Kasur, along with 50-year-old Subedar Major Muhammad Nazir from Skardu, 34-year-old Lance Naik Muhammad Anwar from Ghanchi, 36-year-old Lance Naik Hussain Ali from Ghizer, 33-year-old Sepoy Asadullah from Multan, 27-year-old Sepoy Manzoor Hussain from Gilgit, and 31-year-old Sepoy Rashid Mehmood from district Rawalpindi embraced martyrdom.

Police repulse ambush on Bajaur checkpost

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists present in the area and perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice,” the ISPR said, adding that the security forces were determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and the sacrifices of such brave soldiers further strengthened their resolve.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur strongly condemned the attack on security forces in Shahab Khel area of district Lakki Marwat.

Bajaur ambush

In a separate incident, the police in Bajaur district repulsed an overnight attack on its post by militants, according to an official statement issued on Sunday. It said a group of militants attacked a police post in Miagano area of Khar tehsil with multiple weapons, adding that the militants also used rocket launchers and other weapons to target the post.

According to the statement, several police officials present at the post responded to the attack as reinforcements arrived.

A senior police official said that the police had launched an investigation into the attack to identify the facilitators and assailants.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2024