A terrorist plot to blow up a bridge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district was foiled on Saturday.

According to an official statement from KP police, terrorists attempted to blow up Dawa bridge in Bannu’s Basia Khel area using an improvised explosive device (IED). It said that the plot was thwarted due to timely action by the Bannu police bomb disposal squad.

It said that the terrorists had attached the IED, a bucket full of 8-10 kilogrammes of explosive material, to the central pillar of the bridge.

“The local people praised the timely action taken by Bannu police,” the statement said.

It also quoted Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan as saying that it was necessary to “eliminate elements inconveniencing the public by destroying infrastructure”. He asserted that such elements do not deserve any mercy.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan. The spike in incidents followed the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ending a ceasefire with the government in November 2022 and vowing to attack security forces, police, and personnel of law enforcement agencies.

Yesterday, seven people were killed when a peace committee office was attacked in Bannu, according to police. Police officials had told Dawn that one among those killed was a ‘good Taliban’ — a term used to refer to a former militant who has surrendered to the state — and the rest were his relatives.

Earlier this week, a bid to blow up another bridge in Bannu had failed when an IED detonated prematurely while it was being installed.