LAKKI MARWAT: A soldier was injured when terrorists ambushed a vehicle of security forces on a link road in Domel town of Bannu district on Monday.

A police official confirmed the attack, saying that the injured soldier was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu cantonment.

He said that the security forces retaliated the attack effectively, triggering a gun battle.

“On the directives of RPO Sajjad Khan, DPO Yasir Afridi dispatched reinforcements to the area to take on the assailants,” he said.

The official said the security forces and police launched a joint search operation in the entire area and killed and injured several terrorists.

He said that the law-enforcement personnel besieged the entire area to capture the fleeing attackers.

Meanwhile, police beefed up security in Lakki Marwat when local police received information that a group of armed men was trying to enter Lakki city from the Peerwala Morr area.

An official told Dawn that DPO Nazir Khan altered local police with directions to increase patrolling and stop infiltration of armed men into the city.

He said that a large police contingent reached the area on the outskirts of Lakki city and launched a search for armed men. The official said that the police also tightened checking at the entry and exit points of the urban area and started monitoring the movement of suspected people in the area.

“The district police chief also urged residents to cooperate with police and inform them if they notice suspects in their areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, elders of Poindakhel, Domel, convened a jirga at Mamandi Dogar today (Tuesday) to discuss the security situation.

Similarly, security agencies have directed the Mamadkhel and Mamashkhel tribes to clear orchards spread one kilometre on both sides of the road and avoid constructing double-storey buildings in light of multiple attacks on security forces from these areas in recent times.

However, the Mamandkhel jirga rejected the directives, arguing that the orchards are their economic backbone, so demolishing double-storey structures will cause severe losses.

Village council chairman Khadri Mamandkhel Masoom Wazir and elder Malik Ameer Feroz said they supported action against those disrupting peace, but the suspension of electric and water supply affected the entire population and it should be restored immediately.

In response, Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan said that police and security forces were fully active to eliminate terrorism and safeguard citizens in the region. He said that operations against anti-state elements would continue, while concerns of tribal elders would be addressed effectively.

“Our goal is to ensure a secure environment for people, so their cooperation is essential for it,” he said.

The RPO said the area won’t be left at the mercy of terrorists under any circumstances and the law-enforcement agencies would work with local communities to establish lasting peace in Bannu.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2025