In an unfortunate incident (8 Jan), six policemen were martyred, and 28 others sustained injuries when a police van in the Bilot area of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur tribal district was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the roadside. The targeted policemen were deployed for polio team protection and were on the way to their places of duties. The police van suffered significant damage in the explosion.
The martyred officers were identified as Habib-ur-Rahim, Munasib Khan, Mohammad Rauf, Jan Mohammad, Ali Rahman, and Imran. Among the injured were Adnan, Haroon, Siraj, Wali Khan, Sahibzada, Lehaz, Shahidullah, Zafar Khan, Ahmad, Abdul Razzak, Mohammad Israr, Jehangir, Faiz-ur-Rahman, Sahibzada, Sadbar, Hafiz, Hayatullah, Abdullah, Sher Mohammad, Sahib, Niamatullah, Jalil, Habibullah, and Amirzada.
Police and security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to chase and annihilate the terrorists and their facilitators. The swift response by the District Police Officer in initiating a search operation demonstrates a proactive approach to address security threats promptly. The senior officials of police visited the injured in the hospital.
As the attack took place in tehsil Mamond, Bajaur, and modus operandi was IED ambush, there is a likelihood of involvement of Jamaat-ul- Ahrar (JuA) in this incident. Bajaur shares 52 km border with Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. TTP and JuA are based in Kunar.
The intelligence agencies had recently informed that JuA terrorists had planned to carry out a massive terrorist attack in KPK province. In the last week of Dec 23, the defunct JuA, a splinter group of TTP, planned to carry out VBIED (vehicle borne improvised explosive device) attack in district Peshawar, KP. For this purpose, a suicide bomber namely Hafiz. Zubair r/o Kunar, Afghanistan sneaked into Peshawar from Afghanistan in December 2023. Reportedly, the vehicle to be used as VBIED, has already been prepared at unknown place in Peshawar. Police Lines, Police Stations, personnel/convoys/infrastructure of Pakistan Army and Police/CTD were their most likely targets in Peshawar.
The agencies predicted that the personnel/convoys and check posts/infrastructure of Pakistan Army in Peshawar could be their likely targets. The probable modus operandi will be IED, ambush or sniper terrorist attack(s).
It is worth-mentioning JuA was carved out of TTP in 2014 by Omar Khalid Khorasani. Initially, he was head of Tehreek-i-Taliban Mohmand (TTM). Later, the group joined TTP. Later, JuA swore allegiance to the militant Islamic State group. However, a year later he rejoined TTP. Khorasani was killed in a blast in Kunar province of Afghanistan in 2022. He had strong links to Al Qaeda and Ayman al Zawahiri. JuA was designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations and United States, which had offered $3 million for information leading to Khorasani’s capture or death. His condemnation of the Bajaur blast and expression of condolences reflect the political response to such incidents, highlighting the unity needed in condemning acts of violence irrespective of political affiliations. All political parties and people should condemn such acts and stand united to face the few hundred miscreants.
In a separate incident on the same day, a soldier of the Pakistan Army was martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists in North Waziristan. The security forces engaged terrorists, apprehended one injured terrorist, and sadly, Havaldar Muhammad Zahir, aged 41 and a resident of District Mardan, embraced Shahadat during the intense exchange. This incident highlights the broader challenges faced by security forces in multiple regions, engaging in direct confrontations with terrorist elements.
In conclusion, these incidents underscore the persistent security challenges in the region and the complexities faced by security forces in maintaining public safety. The deliberate targeting of a police van, particularly when it was en route to deploy personnel for an anti-polio drive, underscores the vulnerability of security forces engaged in critical public service duties and deliberate plan of the terrorists to disrupt anti-polio drive. The loss of lives, particularly in the context of public health initiatives like the anti-polio drive, emphasizes the need for comprehensive security measures and close cooperation of intelligence agencies to address terrorism effectively.
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