Terrorist attacks on two police stations were thwarted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur and Bannu districts, injuring four police personnel, police said on Tuesday.

According to a statement by KP Inspector General of Police (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed, “Two police stations came under attack in Bajaur and Bannu on Monday night, but police forces bravely thwarted both attacks.”

He said that four police personnel, including a station house officer and three other constables, were slightly injured while responding to the terrorists.

“The police’s quick response saved the police station from a major loss and casualties,” he said, adding that those police officers will be rewarded for their courage and bravery.

The statement further said that the terrorists used rocket launchers, hand grenades, SMGs and RPGs in the attack.

The police at Bajaur’s Lowi Mamond police station believed that the terrorists who fled the scene were also injured, the statement said, adding that there were no casualties at the Meryan police station in Bannu.

Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan added, “All the police officers remained safe during the attack, while a search operation was underway in the area to track down the terrorists.”

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

In 2023, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people — mostly police officers — had gathered for prayers, claiming 84 lives in total.

Faced with increasing attacks by militants, security forces have also intensified counterterrorism operations in KP and Balochistan.

Last month, two policemen were martyred and two were injured in a suicide attack in Peshawar. The same day, another policeman was martyred in an exchange of fire after attackers threw a hand grenade near a mosque in Gwadar.

On May 21, two cops lost their lives as a result of an attack on a police checkpoint in Bannu. “Terrorists launched the attack using hand grenades late at night, causing some damage to the checkpost,” according to the police.