Girl killed, two children injured in Peshawar grenade blast

SP says children were playing with the suspected grenade when it exploded

A girl was killed and two children were injured when a hand grenade exploded by a roadside in Peshawar’s Faqirabad area, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Hamid Ehsan said the blast took place in Saeedabad, where children were playing with the grenade when it exploded, adding that its clip was recovered from the scene.

“The two injured children were taken to the hospital for medical treatment,” he added.

SP Ehsan said an investigation had been launched to determine how the explosive device reached the area and whether any negligence or criminal involvement was behind the incident.

Earlier today, three people were killed and eight others were wounded when a suspected drone struck a residential house in Bajaur district. The incident took place at Pakistan Chowk in the Shinkot area of Mamund tehsil, where the house of Syed Wali Jan, son of Ajab Khan, was hit by a suspected drone.

In May, two schoolchildren were killed in a drone strike in the Shah Tangi area of Mamund tehsil in Bajaur district. The origin of the quadcopter and those responsible for the attack had remained unknown. In the same month, three people had also been injured in another drone attack on a cricket ground.

K-P remains a key focus of the country's counterterrorism efforts, with security forces regularly conducting operationss against terrorists. The province witnessed a significant rise in militant violence last year, with more than 500 attacks reported, marking a 50% increase compared to the previous year.

Read More: Two schoolchildren killed in drone strike in K-P's Bajaur

According to a security assessment obtained by The Express Tribune, K-P recorded 1,588 terrorism-related incidents, underscoring the growing militant threat across both settled and tribal districts. Despite the increase in attacks, security forces reportedly thwarted 320 major strikes, while 137 police personnel were killed in the line of duty.

Read More: Bannu's misery

The report said joint operations by the K-P Police, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other security agencies led to the arrest of 1,244 suspected militants, while 420 militants were killed in intelligence-based operations.

Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Peshawar were among the districts most affected by militant violence, with the report noting a pattern of attacks allegedly planned and launched from across the Afghan border.

The CTD report also recorded a 56% increase in attacks targeting police personnel, rising from 327 in 2024 to 510 in 2025. During the year, security agencies conducted 2,791 search operations and identified 25 foreign militant operatives, while extortion networks operating in Peshawar and other districts were dismantled, according to the report.