LAKKI MARWAT: A terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire following an attack on a police patrol in Totakai area of Karak district on Saturday.

A police official said that a party of Khurrum police station noticed two suspected motorcyclists during a patrol duty in the area.

He said that armed motorcyclists opened fire on policemen when they tried to stop them.

The sudden attack led to a fierce gunfight, which continued for some time, resulting in the killing of one of the assailants, he maintained.

The official said that the cops seized an assault rifle, two magazines, a hand grenade and bullets from the killed attacker, while his accomplice escaped taking the advantage of difficult mountainous terrain.

“After the attack, a heavy police contingent reached the area in Banda Daud Shah tehsil and launched a search for the fleeing militant,” he claimed, adding that the body of the militant was transported to the hospital.

The official said that security was beefed up in Banda Dad Shah and other parts of the district with special instructions to law enforcers to be alert and keep an eye on movement of suspects in their respective areas.

On Friday, the security forces had killed six terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in Karak district.

In Lakki Marwat, the police averted a tragedy by defusing three indigenously made bombs in Abbasa Khattak locality of Kurrum Par area.

A police official said that district police officer Mohammad Jawad Ishaq dispatched personnel from the Dadiwala police station and Abbasa police post when he was informed about the presence of suspected material buried along a dirt track.

He said that unknown miscreants had planted IEDs along the dirt road to target police and security forces as they used the track during routine patrolling in the trans-river belt.

The police reached the place and found an explosive wire with its both ends buried beneath the ground,” maintained the official, adding that later experts of the bomb disposal squad dug out three homemade bombs connected to each other with explosive wire, batteries and other equipment.

The official said that the bombs weighing 45kg were defused by the BDS personnel through controlled explosions.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2025