BAJAUR: An additional station house officer was martyred after terrorists attacked a police station in the War Mamund tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Saturday night, officials said.

According to a police statement, a group of terrorists attacked the police station using both light and heavy weapons. They added that personnel deployed at the station quickly acted and repelled the assault.

“The police personnel successfully foiled the overnight attack of militants at the War Mamund station, but Additional SHO Gul Mahmood Din was martyred after fighting bravely,” said a senior police official who visited the area on Sunday morning with his team.

The official told Dawn that all the other station personnel were safe and secure following the attack.

Attacks on police personnel, law enforcement agencies, and security forces have escalated across KP and Balochistan, especially after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke a ceasefire agreement with the government in November 2022.

Earlier this week, at least four policemen, including an SHO, were martyred as armed terrorists attacked a police party in Paniala’s Wanda Budh area in Dera Ismail Khan, police said.

According to a police statement, the incident occurred as the police party was returning after a search operation. Militants hiding in nearby forests opened fire on them, prompting the officers to return fire.

Four policemen were martyred in the attack, and there were reports of as many militants being killed in the exchange of fire.

1 killed, 8 injured as mortar shell explodes

Separately, in the Kardok area of Bajaur’s Salarzai tehsil, an unexploded mortar shell detonated on Sunday afternoon, killing a child and injuring eight other people, including a woman.

According to initial reports and rescue sources, eight children and one woman were injured in the incident and were moved to Khar Hospital for medical treatment.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Riaz Ahmed Khan told Dawn that one of the children succumbed to their injuries, while four of the injured were referred to a Peshawar hospital for “advanced treatment”.

Preliminary information suggested that the children found an unexploded mortar shell and brought it home. The shell later exploded, injuring nine people at the house.

An initial investigation indicated that the incident was accidental in nature, but an investigation was launched. Local administration and security agencies cordoned off the area and began collecting evidence.

Last September, at least four teenagers were killed, and two other people were injured when a mortar shell exploded in a field in Bajaur, according to police officials.

Bajaur District Police Officer Waqas Rafiq told Dawn about the incident and said that the dead and injured were transported to Khar Hospital.

“Initial reports suggest that a mortar shell exploded in the field, killing the young men,” he said, adding that the deceased ranged in age between 13 and 18.