Four security personnel were martyred and six others injured in two separate terrorist attacks in Tank and district Khyber, reported on Friday. Five terrorists were also killed in the retaliatory firing by the police during these two incidents. As per the details, some heavily armed militants stormed Police Lines in the district Tank last night. As they entered the premises, the terrorists lobbed four hand grenades at the police station. One of the suicide bombers blew himself up. According to Dera Ismail Khan DPO Nasir Mehmood Satti, two policemen were martyred in the attack. After the attack, the police surrounded the area. An exchange of fire between the militants and the police continued for several hours and three attackers were killed in the retaliatory action of the police, the DPO added. On the other hand, terrorists also targeted a Nala Joint Check Post situated in the limits of Bara police station in the Khyber district. Sources said that two security officials were martyred while 6 policemen were injured in the attack.

Two militants were also killed in the police firing. According to the police, hand grenades and heavy weapons were used in the attack, a search operation is going on in the area to find the terrorists. The injured police officials were shifted to a Peshawar hospital for medical treatment. On Tuesday, 25 soldiers were martyred and 27 militants were killed in a flurry of terrorist attacks in Dera Ismail Khan including a suicide attack on a security forces camp. In early hours of Tuesday, a group of six terrorists attacked a security forces' post in general area Daraban. The attempt to enter the post was effectively thwarted which forced the terrorists to ram an explosives-laden vehicle into the post, followed by a suicide bombing attack. The resulting blasts led to the collapse of the building, causing multiple casualties; 23 brave soldiers embraced shahadat, while all six terrorists were effectively engaged and sent to hell. Sanitization operations were conducted to eliminate any other terrorist present in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

According to a local official who spoke on condition of anonymity: "Many of the soldiers were killed while they were sleeping and in civilian clothes so we are still determining if they are all military personnel." An additional 27 people were wounded when the explosives-laden suicide vehicle detonated at the building, he said and added three rooms had collapsed and efforts were underway to pull bodies from the ruins, with fears the toll could rise further still. Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan -- a new group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban -- said the assault began around 2:30 am with a "martyrdom attack" by one fighter before others stormed the compound. Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic spike in militant attacks, mainly in its border regions with Afghanistan, since the Taliban returned to power there in 2021.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)