File picture of safety officers guarding a blocked street resulting in an anti-terrorism heart in Bannu, a northern district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. | Photograph credit score: AP
A suicide assault in northwest Pakistan killed 12 troopers, the army stated Wednesday (Nov. 20, 2024), following one other conflict that left eight lifeless in the identical area bordering Afghanistan.
The suicide assault occurred on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) and led to the dying of “12 courageous sons of the soil,” the military stated in a press release.
Six militants have been killed in an trade of fireside between them and troopers simply earlier than the suicide assault in Bannu within the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military added.
“The try to enter the submit was successfully thwarted by their very own troops, who compelled the (militants) to crash a car loaded with explosives in opposition to the perimeter wall of the submit,” the assertion learn.
The Pakistani Taliban armed group Hafiz Gul Bahadur claimed accountability for the assault.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed in a press release “his ache” and “his dedication to fully eradicate the curse of terrorism”, whereas Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the assault.
The assault got here lower than 24 hours after one other assault, additionally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in keeping with an intelligence official who spoke on situation of anonymity.
That conflict on Monday (Nov 18, 2024) lasted for hours and led to the deaths of eight troopers and 9 militants within the Tirah space of ​​the province, the officer stated.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, later claimed accountability for that assault, saying it was in response to a search by safety forces for considered one of its fighters.
Close to the checkpoint explosion in Bannu, seven cops have been taken hostage on Monday (Nov 18, 2024) however have been launched lower than a day later.
His launch got here after negotiations between a jirga (or tribal council) and his captors.
“All of the kidnapped policemen have been launched after profitable negotiations led by native elders with the militants,” stated senior police official Muhammad Zia ud-Din. AFP.
He declined to supply additional particulars.
The TTP is separate from the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, however each actively supported the Afghan Taliban of their conflict in opposition to the US-led NATO coalition since 2001.
The Afghan Taliban regained energy in Kabul in 2021 and Pakistan’s border areas have seen a resurgence in violence since then.
The TTP claimed accountability for an assault in late October that left ten cops lifeless at a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In southwestern Pakistan, seven troopers have been killed on Saturday at a border submit by separatist fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Military (BLA) group.
The incident got here every week after a bomb assault by the identical group killed 26 folks, together with 14 troopers, at a practice station within the provincial capital, Quetta.
Printed – Nov 20, 2024 09:55 pm IST
