By Staff Reporter
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least six policemen, including trainees, were killed and 13 others, including a civilian, were wounded late Friday when militants assaulted a police training school in northwestern Pakistan, in a brazen attack that security forces repelled after hours of fierce combat, military and police officials said on Saturday.
The assailants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school’s gate in a desperate attempt to breach the perimeter, but were met with swift resistance from guards on duty, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing.
In the ensuing clash, which lasted about five hours, forces killed five militants affiliated with a banned group, recovering suicide jackets, explosives and ammunition from their bodies, officials said.
The raid began around 8:30 p.m. within the jurisdiction of the Shorkot Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan, the Counter-Terrorism Department said in a report. Militants first targeted the gate, killing one officer, then advanced into the complex, unleashing fire from heavy weapons and hand grenades. Amid the violence, the attackers stormed a mosque inside the school, desecrating the site and killing the imam, described as an innocent civilian performing his duties there, the military statement said.
“Displaying unwavering courage and professional excellence, police personnel engaged the intruders, eliminating three Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij,” the statement said, employing the government’s designation for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. While cornering the remaining two intruding Khwarij in a building complex, they were later neutralised by security forces in a deliberate clearance operation with precision, it added.
A nearby office of the National Database and Registration Authority was also set ablaze by the militants, Dera Ismail Khan Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Hamid Siddiqui said. He confirmed the casualties, aligning with military accounts, though the Counter-Terrorism Department’s report listed seven police officers killed and 13 injured, without specifying the civilian.
Senior police commanders responded rapidly. As soon as the news of the attack reached District Police Officer Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmed, he rushed to the site with a heavy contingent of police, the department’s statement said. Regional Police Officer Syed Ashfaq Anwar was also on scene, and security forces soon reinforced the police lines.
A sanitization sweep continued in the area on Saturday, with the military pledging that the perpetrators of the heinous and cowardly act will be brought to justice. The security forces, alongside law enforcement agencies of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers and innocent civilians further strengthen our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs, the military statement said.
Praising the defenders, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said the “unparalleled bravery of the officers on the frontline has proven that the KP police is committed to eradicating terrorism”. He announced compensation for those killed, assuring that their sacrifices will not go in vain, and pledged special rewards for participants in the operation.
The assault is the latest in a spate of violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where districts including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur have endured repeated terrorist strikes, often aimed at police. A day earlier, a senior army officer died in an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan. Late Wednesday, militants attacked a police checkpoint in the district from multiple directions, killing one officer.
Last month, security forces killed 13 terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in the district’s Daraban area. Reports from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies and the Centre for Research and Security Studies show Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the province hardest hit by terrorism last month, with 45 attacks claiming 54 lives and injuring 49, even as counterterrorism efforts intensified. Pakistan has grappled with a sharp rise in militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with police, law enforcement and security personnel bearing the brunt. The surge escalated after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended a ceasefire with the government in 2022.
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