SOUTH WAZIRISTAN/LAKKI MARWAT/DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Two civilians and a policeman lost their lives and 18 others, including nine law-enforcement personnel, were injured in three separate blasts in South Waziristan Lower and Bannu and an attack on a police check post in Dera Ismail Khan district on Tuesday.

Two blasts took place in South Waziristan Lower while another one in Bannu and the attack on a check post took place in Dera Ismail Khan. According to police, a remote-controlled bomb blast took place in Azam Warsak Bazaar in Birmal tehsil of South Waziristan Lower district.

Asif Bahader, the district police officer of South Waziristan Lower, said that the explosion killed a civilian and injured nine other people. The injured were taken to District Headquarters Hospital, Wana, whereas two critically injured individuals, including a child, were transferred to Dera Ismail Khan for further treatment.

The official said that preliminary investigations revealed that the explosive material was planted in a motorcycle, which was detonated as people passed by it, causing widespread destruction. Shops and vehicles were also damaged in the blast, which took place near a funeral procession.

The second bomb blast took place in the Daza Ghundai area of Wana, targeting a Frontier Corps vehicle. Three FC personnel were injured in the blast as they were going to investigate the earlier explosion. The injured were taken to Scouts Hospital of Wana.

Bannu attack

In Bannu district, six policemen were injured when their vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device in Bannu on Tuesday.

A police official said a patrol party of the cantonment police station was passing through a road near Soorangi Adda in the Mamashkhel area when a roadside bomb planted by unknown miscreants went off. The blast left six policemen injured.

The official said that the wounded policemen were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital where doctors declared their condition stable.

After the blast, the policemen fired in the air to scare miscreants present around the venue from attacking them. A large police contingent also reached the venue of the blast, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace the miscreants.

D.I. Khan incident

Separately, a policeman and a customs worker were martyred while another policeman got injured as unknown militants stormed Daraban police check post in Dera Ismail Khan district late Monday night.

According to police, some unknown terrorists attacked the police checkpost with modern weapons. As a result, police constable Asmat Ullah and customs worker Abdullah were martyred, while police constable Parvez was injured.

After receiving information about the attack, security forces and police teams immediately arrived at the scene and retaliated with gunfire. However, the terrorists escaped taking advantage of the darkness.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack on the police post in Dera Ismail Khan which left two people, including a police officer, martyred.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2025