KHYBER: Over a dozen security personnel were martyred in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 24 hours.

Although Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not officially confirm the death toll, official sources said that at least eight security personnel were martyred and three injured in fierce gun battles with militants over the weekend in the Tirah valley.

The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that “nine militants” were also killed in the gunfight.

The clashes ensued after armed gunmen attacked a military camp near the Bagh-Maidan Markaz.

Shops in Tirah opened on Tuesday following a tense calm that prevailed in the valley after two days of gunfights.

Eight embrace martyrdom fighting attackers in Tirah; several personnel targeted in Mali Khel ‘suicide attack’

Local traders also held a demonstration demanding peace and compensation for their shops damaged due to mortar shelling on Sunday evening.

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Then, on Tuesday, several security personnel were martyred in a suicide attack near the Mali Khel checkpoint in the Janikhel area of Bannu.

Although initial reports were sketchy, sources said that around 11 personnel embraced martyrdom in the attack, while the condition of two of the men is said to be critical.

Sources said the Mali Khel explosion was followed by an assault by armed militants, leading to a gunfight with security personnel. The martyred and wounded were subsequently evacuated and moved to hospitals after reinforcements arrived at the scene.

The attacks came on the same day as the NAP apex committee met to take stock of the security situation.

The restive Bannu district has seen heightened militant violence of late. On Tuesday, over half a dozen policemen who were abducted from a check post on the border with North Waziristan a day earlier were recovered safely by police, with the help of tribal elders.

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Around a week ago, unknown miscreants attacked the under-construction building of a girls’ primary school in the Shah Najeeb Landidak Naikum Kallay area.

Earlier, three security men, including an army major, embraced martyrdom in a shootout in the Bakka Khel area of the same district, late last month.

In recent demonstrations, a peace jirga had demanded serious efforts to restore peace in the area and initiate action against armed groups, who locals claimed ruled the roads in the absence of law enforcement.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024