Four Terrorists Killed as Police Foil TTP Attack on Checkpost in Pakistan’s Bannu

Peshawar (Terror Monitor) — Police in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have foiled an armed attack by suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists on a police checkpoint in Bannu district, killing four attackers during a subsequent clearance operation, police said on Saturday.

The attack targeted the Kingar Pul police checkpost in Bannu late Friday night, November 13, when heavily armed terrorists launched an assault on the security position.

According to a statement issued by the Central Police Office (CPO), police personnel deployed at the checkpoint responded immediately and successfully repelled the attack.

Following the incident, additional police contingents, including personnel from the Quick Response Force (QRF), Rapid Response Force (RRF) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), were dispatched to the scene.

Police cordoned off the area and launched a clearance and search operation to locate the attackers and prevent any further threat.

During the operation, security personnel recovered the bodies of four terrorists, the police statement said.

Police also seized four Kalashnikov rifles, several magazines, a substantial quantity of ammunition, hand grenades and ammunition bandoliers from the possession of the dead terrorists.

Authorities said the process of identifying those killed was under way.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed praised the Bannu police personnel for successfully repelling the attack.

He said thwarting the assault under the cover of darkness demonstrated the high level of professional training, vigilance and courage of the police force.

The provincial police chief reiterated that terrorists would have no safe haven in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said efforts to eliminate terrorism from the province would continue.

He also said protecting the lives and property of the public remained the foremost priority of the police.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and the Counter Terrorism Department for their response, praising their professionalism and determination in preventing the attackers from overrunning the checkpoint.

Renewed attacks on police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The latest incident comes amid a renewed wave of terrorist attacks targeting police and security installations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Earlier this week, terrorists attacked the Bandkorai Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan district using an explosives-laden vehicle. The explosion was followed by intense gunfire, but police personnel prevented the attackers from entering the station.

Two police personnel, including an assistant sub-inspector, were also killed in a separate attack on a police patrol in Swabi district.

In a separate development, Pakistan's military said on Friday that security forces had killed 74 terrorists during intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan over a 48-hour period.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 43 terrorists were killed in operations in Mir Ali and Orakzai districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while another 31 were killed in Balochistan.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has been responsible for numerous attacks targeting Pakistani security forces and police installations, particularly in the country's northwestern border regions.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the group of operating from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, an allegation that the Afghan Taliban authorities have denied.