DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Security agencies successfully neutralised an improvised explosive device planted along a road, thereby preventing what could have been a deadly assault targeting security forces and police personnel near Khoi Bahara police station on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the police, militants had planted the IED along a damaged section of a road near Mangal Morr, a remote area of the district, with the apparent intention of launching a coordinated attack on security forces and police personnel.

The militants, under the cover of darkness during the night between May 11 and 12, deliberately destroyed a road to plant the IED, endangering both the lives of local residents and law enforcement personnel. However, acting swiftly on credible intelligence, security agencies launched a prompt operation, successfully neutralising the IED.

Following the incident, the very IED device was repurposed to target and destroy the hideouts of the militants involved in the plot. This decisive action was carried out under the direct supervision of both the Pakistan Army and the local police.

Meanwhile, the road restoration work began on an emergency basis with the support of local residents, under the joint supervision of security forces and police teams.

Meanwhile, the police foiled a terrorist attack on a mobile patrol van in the limits of Paroa police station on Monday night.

A police spokesperson said the van was on a routine patrol when four unidentified armed motorcyclists opened fire on it near Hayat Morr. SHO Mohammad Ali, along with his team, promptly retaliated to the fire. However, the attackers managed to flee into the nearby forest taking advantage of darkness and left their two motorcycles on the spot.

The police launched a search operation in the surrounding areas to trace the suspects.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025