PESHAWAR: At least six terrorists were killed and several others injured on Friday in a clash between police forces, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) commandos and armed locals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat.
“The terrorists armed with sniper rifles and quadcopters attacked the police in the rural area bordering Bannu district and located within the limits of Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station of Serai Naurang town,“ said a police statement.
“The attack triggered a fierce gun battle as the law enforcers returned the fire effectively,” it said.
As per the release, the terrorists also targeted the “houses of villagers with quadcopter strikes”, resulting in “civilian casualties”.
Although the official press release did not provide any details about police casualties, it stated that “during the armed clash, the law enforcers eliminated six terrorists and several of their accomplices were injured”.
“The casualties occurred as a result of explosive payload released by the quadcopters.”
Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner Habibullah Wazir, who visited the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Serai Naurang town, told media persons that ten injured had been brought to the hospital so far.
“Some injured have been referred to a hospital in Bannu while others were in stable condition,” he said.
“The district administration has declared an emergency at the THQ Hospital as all doctors and paramedics have been called to duty,“ he maintained, adding that doctors, along with a sufficient quantity of medicines, are available and standard treatment facilities are being provided to the injured people.
The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Ishaq, also confirmed that they had received “ten injured so far and three of them had been referred to a hospital in Bannu owing to their critical condition”.
The situation was tense, and security had been tightened in the remote rural area on the special instructions of Regional Police Officer (RPO) Bannu Sajjad Khan.
“The RPO and Lakki Marwat DPO Nazir Khan are supervising the operation against Fitna al Khawarij terrorists as a large police contingent backed by the CTD personnel and volunteers of peace committees are present in the area,” added the release.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
It continued that the law enforcers had surrounded the entire area and a search and clearance operation was underway, while additional forces had also been put on “high alert” to counter any untoward eventuality.
“Police will continue operations against the terrorists and anti-peace elements to establish lasting peace in the region and protect people’s lives and properties,” the RPO affirmed.
Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zulfiqar Hameed also praised the Bannu police and CTD for the successful operation against the terrorists.
“Such successful actions against terrorists would be further accelerated for the protection of public life and regional peace,” he stated.
