By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A wave of militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the weekend and into Monday claimed the lives of five security personnel and three civilians, including a two-year-old boy, while injuring several others, officials said.
The violence, which also left at least seven suspected militants dead, underscored the persistent threat posed by groups like the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Pakistan’s volatile northwest.
The clashes, spanning multiple districts, involved intense firefights, vehicle burnings, and a rare quadcopter strike, prompting authorities to launch search operations and reassure residents of their resolve to combat militancy. The surge in violence comes amid growing concerns about cross-border militant activity, with officials pointing to possible links to Afghanistan.
In Upper Dir’s Dobando area, fierce clashes erupted late Sunday night between security forces and suspected TTP militants, lasting several hours, according to local officials. Five suspected militants were killed, and seven policemen were injured.
A senior official from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) told the Dawn newspaper that the bodies of the five militants were in police custody and that authorities were investigating potential ties to Afghanistan. Tragically, two civilians from Hatnar Dara in Upper Dir were caught in the crossfire and killed, officials said. Their identities were not immediately released.
In Lower Dir’s Lajbook Dara area, heavy gunfire broke out between police and militants, though no casualties were reported. Locals said the attackers set fire to police vehicles, including two pick-up trucks and a car, escalating tensions in the area. The TTP claimed responsibility, posting footage on social media asserting they had “seized the vehicles and destroyed them.”
Police officials, however, maintained that the situation was under control. “We will never bow down to the mischief of the Kharijites,” one officer said, using a term often applied to militants.
In Bajaur district, Head Constable Shah Wazir Khan, a policeman from Lower Dir, was killed in militant gunfire. His funeral, held in his ancestral village of Chansaruno Talash, drew a large crowd, including Lower Dir District Police Officer Abdul Salam Khalid, SP Elite Force Fahd Khan, Col. Abrar of 184 Wing Dir Scouts, and local elders.
In Hangu district, a late-night assault on the Tora Warai Frontier Corps (FC) fort resulted in the deaths of two Hangu Scouts personnel, with several others injured. Two militants were killed in the ensuing gun battle, officials said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, joined by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, police chief Zulfiqar Hameed, and FC Commandant Riaz Nazir Gara, attended the funeral of the fallen personnel. Naqvi met with the martyrs’ families, assuring them that their sacrifices “would not go in vain.”
In Tirah Valley, located in Khyber district, two soldiers, Lance Naik Ali Hasan Jan and Sepoy Nabi Jan, were killed in a militant attack on a security post, Dawn newspaper reported. An unspecified number of armed militants targeted an army unit, but fled when security forces returned fire. A subsequent search operation was launched, with residents instructed to remain indoors for their safety.
In Jamrud, a policeman named Khurshid Khan was fatally shot in the Ghundi area, police said. The attackers escaped, and while authorities are investigating the motive, they have not ruled out the possibility of a family feud.
In a separate incident on Monday, a quadcopter strike on a house in Barokhel village, Mir Ali, North Waziristan, killed a two-year-old boy, Sahir Tufail, and injured his grandmother, according to local media. The injured woman was rushed to Mir Ali hospital. The attack, rare for its use of a drone, raised questions about the escalating tactics of militant groups in the region.
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