A Frontier Corps (FC) official was martyred on Wednesday, while 13 people were injured when security forces foiled a suicide attack in Zhob, officials said.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Zhob Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam said that an attack was carried out on the Joint Response Centre in Zhob’s Sabakzai area at 3:40am today.
The centre, he said, was “attacked by terrorists from three sides, while a suicide bomber was killed by security forces as he attempted to enter the building.”
Alam said that at the time of the attack, 45 FC officials, 10 Levies personnel, and five soldiers were present in the building.
“During retaliatory fire, Havaldar Jam Sher was martyred,” he said, adding that among the 13 injured, two were civilians.
He added that security forces visited the affected area during daylight and collected evidence.
Last month, an officer of the Balochistan Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) was martyred and three others were injured in an armed attack on the Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan highway.
##‘Two terrorists neutralised’: ISPR
Later in the day, the military’s media wing issued a statement saying that it had neutralised two terrorists during the operation to repel the attackers.
“The attempt to enter the camp was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, and resultantly two terrorists, including a suicide bomber and HVT Terrorist Umar @ Umari, were sent to hell, before they could cause the intended damage,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement read.
“Terrorist Umar@ Umari was involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as innocent civilians, including recent attack on convoy of Deputy Commissioner, Sherani,” the statement added.
The ISPR added that a sanitisation operation was underway to neutralize any other terrorists in the area.
“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan, and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” the statement read.
‘Decline’ in attacks
According to a monthly security report published by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), a total of 45 terrorist attacks took place across the country in September 2024, reflecting about 24 per cent decline from the month before.
These attacks resulted in 54 fatalities (29 security personnel, 16 civilians, and nine militants), compared to 84 last month, and injuries to another 117 people.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suffered the most as 27 terrorist incidents occurred across the province, followed by 17 in Balochistan and one in Punjab.
The report said that 27 terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded 70 others.
The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Gul Bahadur Group, Islamic State-Khorasan and a few local Taliban groups were involved in these attacks.
No terrorist attack was recorded in any part of Sindh in September 2024. However, one reported attack in Punjab injured one policeman.
A total of five attacks were recorded from across Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.