Eight martyred as troops 'avert major catastrophe'

At least eight troops were martyred when security forces averted a “major catastrophe by staving off a massive gun and suicide attack on Bannu garrison, the military said in a statement on Tuesday, the day five civilians were also martyred in another assault on a health centre in neighbouring DI Khan. Thirteen attackers were also killed by security forces in the two terrorist acts which happened more than 24 hours apart.

The brazen attack on Bannu Cantonment took place before dawn on Monday, but there was no official word on it until Tuesday. “A group of 10 terrorists attacked Bannu Cantonment. The attempt to enter the cantonment was effectively thwarted by security forces personnel which forced the terrorists to ram an explosives-laden vehicle into a perimeter wall of the cantonment,” the ISPR said in the statement.

A portion of the wall collapsed and the adjoining infrastructure was damaged, resulting in martyrdom of eight security personnel who have been identified as Naib Subedar Muhammad Shehzad, 44, of Poonch district; Havildar Zil-e-Hussain, 39, of Khushab district; Havildar Shahzad Ahmed, 28, of Neelum district; Sepoy Ashfaq Hussain Khan, 30, of Muzzafarabad district; Sepoy Sobhan Majeed, 22, of Muzzafarabad district; Sepoy Imtiaz Khan, 30, of Karak district, Sepoy Arsalan Aslam, 26, of Bahawalpur district; and Lance Naik Sabz Ali, 34, of Lakki Marwat district.

Following the suicide bombing, the security forces effectively engaged the terrorists, killing all 10 of them. “This timely and effective response by the security forces prevented a major catastrophe, saving precious innocent lives,” the ISPR added. “The gallant and selfless action of the security forces is a testament of unrelenting resolve in fight against terrorism. Pakistan’s armed forces will keep defending the motherland and its people against this menace of terrorism.”

The brazen attack was undertaken by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group which operates from Afghanistan and has used the Afghan soil to orchestrate acts of terrorism inside Pakistan in the past as well.

The ‘Jaish Fursan Muhammad’ outfit of Hafiz Gul Bahadur group had carried out a similar attack on a military outpost in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, adjacent to Bannu, on March 16, 2024. That attack also involved a truck bomb and six suicide attackers which had triggered cross-border precision strikes against the hideouts of Hafiz Gul Bahadur group in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces as Kabul remains reluctant to act against anti-Pakistan organisations on its soil.

“Pakistan has consistently raised its concerns with the interim Afghan government, asking them to deny persistent use of Afghan soil by the terrorists and take effective action against such elements,” the ISPR said on Tuesday, adding that the armed forces of Pakistan “will take all necessary measures as deemed appropriate against these threats” from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, an attack was launched on the Kari Shamuzai Rural Health Centre on the night between Monday and Tuesday. “Five innocent civilians, including two Lady Health Workers, two children, and one watchman embraced Shahadat” in the attack, the ISPR said in another statement.

The security forces in the vicinity were immediately mobilised for the clearance operation at the RHC. They effectively engaged the terrorists, killing three of them in the ensuing gunfight. However, two soldiers of the Pakistan Army – identified as Naib Subedar Mohammad Farooq, 44, from Narowal district; and Sepoy Mohammad Javed Iqbal, 23, from Khanewal district – were also martyred in the fire exchange.

Locals identified the civilian deceased as LHWs Gulshan Bibi and Safina Shahr, a four-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl and the RHC watchman Asghar. They added that eight people, including two young men and a woman, Sawira, were also injured.

According to the ISPR, a clearance operation was under way to eliminate any other terrorists in the area. “The perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act of targeting innocent citizens, especially women and children will be brought to justice,” it added.