Militants’ strike: People aid Bannu police in repulsing militant attack

Separately, Khasadar Force, army are targeted in K-P.

PESHAWAR/ BANNU/ JAMRUD:

In three separate militant attacks on Wednesday, at least four security forces’ personnel got injured while three suspected militants also died. 

The most eventful of the incidents took place at Hawaid, Bannu in the early hours of Wednesday, when militants launched a gun-and-rocket attack at a police check post.

“It was around 2:30am, when militants from three sides attacked Sheikh Landak police check post on the outskirts of Hawaid,” Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Iqbal Khan told reporters in Police Line.

He said militants fired rockets at the check post and then sprayed bullets from assault rifles. “However, the police retaliated and exchange of fire continued for around 30 minutes,” he said.

The DPO said people of the neighbourhood played a commendable role. They formed an armed group, blocked the main routes to the area and rushed to assist the police.



He said the police launched a search operation in the morning and found the body of a suspected militant close to the check post while two more bullet-riddled bodies were found in the nearby fields.

He said two rockets, five empty rocket shells, an AK-47, 10 kg of explosives, a wireless set, hand grenades, detonators, along with other documents were also found near the dead bodies.

Jamrud IED blast

Meanwhile, in another incident, two khasadar officials were injured in Takta Baig, Jamrud when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at around 8am.

“Unknown militants had planted the IED near the makeshift check post which was detonated by a remote-controlled device,” said Jamrud Assistant Political Agent (APA) Jehangir Azam, adding that the militants had used a mortar shell as an IED which destroyed the check post  completely.

A search operation was launched in the surrounding areas after the explosion; however no one was arrested.

Roadside blast in Peshawar

A remote controlled roadside bomb went off in Peshawar at Ring Road from where an army convoy had passed moments ago. The convoy remained unhurt.

Pishtakhara police reached the area soon after the attack and cordoned off the entire locality. They also arrested a suspicious man who was shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

A Bomb Disposal Squad team inspected the explosion site and said it was a home-made low intensity device which had been planted by the roadside in a garbage dump.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2013.