BANNU (The Thursday Times) — Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district beat back an overnight attack on a checkpost and killed four terrorists, officials said on Saturday.
Heavily armed terrorists struck the Kingar Pul police checkpost late on Friday night, a police spokesperson said. The personnel posted there returned fire at once and repelled the assault.
The Rapid Response Force and more police were rushed from Police Lines to the scene. They cordoned off the area and began a clearance and search operation, during which the bodies of four terrorists were recovered, the spokesperson said. Police said the attackers belonged to Fitna al-Khawarij, the name the state uses for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Police seized four Kalashnikov rifles, several magazines, a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades, and bandoliers. Work to identify the dead was under way.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed praised the Bannu police for the swift response. Repelling the attack under the cover of darkness showed the high level of training, vigilance, and bravery of the personnel, he said, adding that there was no place for terrorists in the province and that operations to eliminate them were continuing.
The attack came a day after the military’s media wing said security forces had killed 74 terrorists in intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Earlier this week, terrorists rammed an explosives-laden pickup into the main gate of the Bandkorai police station in Dera Ismail Khan, setting off a powerful blast followed by heavy gunfire. Police fire stopped the attackers from getting inside, and they fled. On the same day, two policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, were martyred in Swabi when three suspects opened fire on a patrol.
