DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Two militants were killed during an encounter in Kiri Malang area of Kulachi tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan district after a police vehicle came under attack in the area, police sources said here on Wednesday.

A Kulachi police official said militants attacked a police mobile van on Takwara-Kulachi Road near Hathala, using an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the roadside. As a result of the blast, the driver of the police mobile van, Mohammad Arshad, sustained injuries while the vehicle was also slightly damaged.

A joint search operation was laun­ched by the Kulachi police and security forces in the area to trace miscreants involved in the IED attack. The police sources said the alleged militants hiding in the bushes in the vicinity of Kiri Malang village ambushed the law enforcers with sophisticated weapons.

In retaliatory firing, they added, two terrorists identified as Abdur Rahman, resident of Qalandar village, and Mir Zaman, resident of Kirri Malang village, were killed.

Later, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement explained that an improvised explosive device struck a police vehicle in the area. The Quick Reaction Force of the army immediately reached and cordoned off the incident site, it said.

The statement said a fire exchange took place with the terrorists during which two were killed. Wea­pons and ammunition were also seized from them. Locals appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the area, the statement added.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2022