Two cops martyred in targeted attacks

A levies man and a policeman were killed and three others sustained injuries in two separate incidents in North Waziristan and Lower Dir districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Tuesday.

In the first incident a policeman was killed and two others sustained injuries when a police mobile was ambushed in Mir Ali sub-division of North Waziristan tribal district late on Monday.

Police told The Express Tribune that a mobile was on its way from Bannu to Miranshah after escorting IDPs to Bannu camp.

“The vehicle escorted a group of Waziristani IDPs, who recently returned from Afghanistan, to Bakka Khel Camp in Bannu and was on its way back when it was ambushed by terrorists in Mir Ali,” said a police official, adding that one police constable Aminullah was killed on the spot while two others were left injured.

“The injured policemen also fired at the attackers forcing them to flee,” he said, adding that the injured and the dead had been shifted to a nearby hospital and police cordoned off the entire area and started a door to door search operation.

“Two constables Noor Zaman and Wasid were injured in the attack but their condition is now stable,” he said.

Two terrorists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Thal area of North Waziristan. According to ISPR the operation was conducted on the basis of intelligence. Both the slain terrorists were involved in target killings, kidnap for ransom and attacks at security forces.

The last rites of the deceased policeman were offered in local police lines after which his body was sent to ancestral village for burial.

It may be mentioned here that on January 8, a policeman was killed in a targeted attack in Mir Ali. Constable Ghani Khan had been deployed at the Mir Ali Bazaar where he was targeted.

Last year eight policemen were killed and many more injured in North Waziristan.

In a separate incident in Lower Dir, miscreants attacked a levies check post on the border of Bajaur and Lower Dir late last night in which one levies man Qaisar Mehmood was killed and another Sher Ali was injured. In the return fire, a terrorist was also killed.

“The injured was shifted to the hospital for treatment and police also took the body of the terrorists into possession,” said a local official, adding that the last rites of the slain levies official were offered in Timargara Police Lines with full guard of honour.

Later the coffin was sent to his ancestral Bandagai village for burial.

“Qaisar Mehmood was 30 who left behind four sons and a widow. His first born is a class III student,” said the official, adding that he stood his ground during the attack and repulsed the attack and lost his life while defending the post.

In a third incident, three policemen were injured in Kulachi tehsil of DI Khan when their vehicle was ambushed. The attackers escaped after the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2022.