Terrorists carried out 13 overnight gun and grenade attacks on the police in several districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in which at least six policemen embraced martyrdom, officials said on Thursday.
Many of those attacks were repulsed when the police fought back, inflicting injuries on the attackers, while the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), in an intelligence-based operation (IBO), killed three terrorists in Peshawar.
The overnight attacks were against police stations, checkpoints and patrols across seven districts of the province, police officer Mohammad Ali Babakhel told Reuters. The attacks came as the nation celebrated its 78th Independence Day.
The unprecedented wave of violence struck multiple districts, including Peshawar, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Shangla and Bannu, in what officials described as an attempt to challenge the writ of the state on the eve of Independence Day.
The militants used rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers in some of the attacks, Babakhel said, adding six officers were martyred and another nine injured. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed later said that the fatalities occurred in two incidents.
"Out of 13, we inflicted losses on them, repulsed them and forced them to flee in nine, 10 incidents," Hameed, the Inspector General (IG) of the K-P police, told reporters after attending funerals of the policemen in the Upper Dir district.
The most severe attack occurred in Upper Dir's Panah Kot area, where three policemen embraced martyrdom after their mobile van was ambushed. Six others were injured in the incident.
Neighbouring Lower Dir district witnessed two separate attacks on police checkpoints in Maidan, Lajbok and Shadas. Constable Sanaullah was martyred in Lajbok, while Constable Sultan Zareen was injured in Shadas, police said.
In Bannu's Miryan and Mazanga areas, terrorists fired an RPG-7 at police checkpoints, but officers returned fire, forcing the assailants to flee without inflicting casualties, the police said.
Similarly, in Shangla's remote Choga area, attackers targeted a police station around 1:30am, but night-vision equipment and swift alerting of reinforcements enabled the police to repel the assault. Sources said one militant was wounded.
In the provincial capital, terrorists struck two police checkpoints in Matni and Nasir Bagh, as well as the Hassan Khel police station. Constable Jahangir Khan was martyred and another officer injured in the Hassan Khel attack.
The CTD later said that three Fitna al-Khawarij — a term used for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP)terrorists were killed in an IBO supported by local police in the Regi Lalma area in Wednesday night.
"The suspects had been under continuous technical surveillance, with investigators tracing their movements and confirming their identities through electronic footprints," it said in a statement.
"Acting on intelligence of an imminent terrorist strike in the Khyber-Peshawar border area, a CTD SWAT team intercepted the group. The militants opened indiscriminate fire, prompting a precise response that left all three dead on the spot," it added.
It identified one of the dead terrorists as Abdullah alias Jawad, an Afghan national, already wanted to the police in a case. The identities of the other two are yet to be confirmed, while a search for their fleeing accomplices was under way.
The CTD stated that preliminary investigation links the gang to at least 18 terrorist incidents in Peshawar district in the past in which nearly two-dozen policemen and citizens were martyred.
Weapons and explosives recovered from the site included an M4 rifle, an M16 rifle, an SMG, a 2.5 kg improvised explosive device (IED), a hand-grenade, four smartphones, 125 rounds of assorted ammunition, and six magazines, the statement added.
Officials said the group was part of a TTP-linked cell, operating under foreign-based handlers, with active plans to escalate attacks against security forces, infrastructure, and pro-state individuals.
The CTD hailed the operation as a demonstration of "unwavering commitment, operational precision, and inter-agency coordination" in dismantling terrorist networks and safeguarding peace in the region.
Elements of Fitna al-Khawarij also fired on a police party near Nasir Bagh, but timely action prevented casualties," the K-P Police said. "The Matni and Nasir Bagh assaults were foiled, forcing the attackers to retreat."
The IG lauded the professionalism and courage of the police force, noting that 80% of the attacks had been foiled despite the scale of the assault. "The enemy sought to overshadow 14 August celebrations, but our brave soldiers stood firm," he said.
During a visit to Upper Dir, Hameed attended the funeral prayers for the martyred personnel. He also attended funeral prayers for Constable Jahangir Khan at Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines in Peshawar.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the attacks as "cowardly acts" aimed at demoralising the police, He assured support for the families of the martyrs and promised that their sacrifices "will be remembered in history".
(WITH INPUT FROM REUTERS)
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