Two people were killed while 20 others were injured in a bomb blast targeting a police vehicle in the Wana tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower South Waziristan district on Thursday.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, predominantly targeting the police, law enforcement agencies’ personnel, and security forces. Attacks increased after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022.

“The blast was caused by a remote-controlled explosive device planted near a police vehicle [in the Rustam Bazaar],” Deputy Superintendent of Police Imranullah was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Data from the incident report from the Wana District Headquarters Hospital showed two dead with 12 people with major injuries and eight with minor injuries.

A list of casualties issued by South Waziristan police spokesperson Anayat Khan identified two wounded policemen as Zubair Salaam Khan from the district’s Dabkot area and Fareedun Zubair from Birmal tehsil.

Lower South Waziristan’s District Police Officer (DPO) Tahir Khan had earlier told Dawn.com: “The wounded were immediately taken to the Wana District Headquarters Hospital.”

Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast and initiated a search operation to trace the perpetrators, DPO Khan added.

Investigation was also underway to determine the nature of the bomb used, the officer noted.

The incident follows residents’ complaints of the open display of firearms and the free movement of armed men in Wana’s Rustam Bazaar, an important commercial hub of Lower South Waziristan.

Sources said no one was allowed to roam Rustam Bazaar openly carrying weapons, and that strict measures would be implemented soon to curb the practice.

Pakistan witnessed a slight uptick in militant violence in July, according to a report released by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (Picss). KP, including its tribal districts, remained the epicentre of militancy, accounting for 53 of the 82 attacks recorded nationwide.

A day ago, a police constable was among two people injured when Upper South Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Asmatullah Wazir’s vehicle came under attack in the district’s Ladha tehsil.

Also yesterday, four security personnel and a policeman were among seven people martyred in two separate firing incidents in KP’s Karak and Peshawar districts.

On Tuesday, unidentified attackers fired a rocket targeting a Scout camp in Wana. Although there were no reports of casualties or property damage, the explosion caused widespread fear and concern among residents.

Last Sunday, two militant commanders and the brother of a tribal elder were killed in a clash between the banned TTP (Gul Bahadar group) and family members of elder Malik Ashiq Noor in the Dana area of Lower South Waziristan’s Birmal tehsil.

Cop injured as late-night attack on Bannu police post repulsed

Separately, a cop was injured as police and civilians repulsed a late-night terrorist attack on the Khuni Khel police post in KP’s Bannu district.

“Police personnel responded strongly to the terrorist attack while showing bravery and determination,” Bannu DPO Saleem Abbas Kulachi said in a statement.

“A policeman got injured by the terrorists’ firing and was taken to a hospital,” the officer added, noting that residents also joined the police and took up positions against the attackers.

DPO Kulachi stressed that the residents’ courage further heightened the police’s courage. “The net around the terrorists is being tightened,” he asserted.

According to APP, the assault was carried out using both light and heavy weaponry by terrorists from the outlawed TTP and Tehreek-i-Jihad Afghanistan (TTG), operating under the combined name Al-Ittihad al-Mujahideen.

Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu in July.

Last week, a fire exchange following a terrorist attack on a police checkpoint in Bannu left a constable and three terrorists dead, while three cops were injured.

Bannu has also seen multiple quadcopter attacks over the past month, which the military says are carried out by the TTP.