Pakistan: One soldier, two civilians killed in terrorist attack on private company vehicles

Islamabad [Pakistan]: One soldier and two civilians were killed after terrorists opened fire in the general area of Darazinda in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan-based Geo News reported citing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement on Tuesday.

The ISPR said that the terrorists fired upon a private company vehicles working on a development project in the area and killed one soldier and two civilians, according to Geo News report.

In the statement, ISPR said that two civilian employees of the company – Muhammad Faisal (35) and Asif Kamran (29), were killed in the attack. According to ISPR, Sepoy Syed Muhammad Shaheen Shah (33), who was employed on the security of the project was also killed while fighting terrorists.

The ISPR in the statement said, “Sanitisation operation is being carried out to eliminate the terrorists present in the area.” It further said that Pakistan’s security forces are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.

Earlier on November 13, two soldiers and one terrorist were killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in the Mir Ali area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, Pakistan-based Dawn reported citing the military media affairs wing’s statement on Monday.

On November 11, three police personnel, including a station house officer (SHO), were killed and five others including a deputy superintendent of police sustained injuries after a terrorist attack on police in the Kari Shah Noor area of Pakistan’s Tank, Dawn reported.

The police spokesperson said that DSP Chan Shah was leading a police party on Saturday to arrest the kidnappers of a woman in Shah Noor village when unidentified assailants opened fire on the vehicle.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that troops “effectively engaged the terrorists’ location.” A terrorist was also killed in an exchange of fire, according to the Dawn report.

According to ISPR, Sepoy Abdullah (25) and Sepoy Muhammad Sohail (19) were killed during the exchange of fire. The ISPR said that the sanitisation of the surrounding areas is being conducted to neutralise any terrorists found in the area.

Pakistan has witnessed a rise in terror activities in recent months, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan after the ceasefire between the Pakistan government and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended in November last year.

In a report released in October, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said that 386 security personnel lost their lives in the first nine months of 2023, reaching an eight-year high, Geo News reported.

In the third quarter of 2023, some 445 people were killed and 440 others were injured from 190 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, Geo News reported. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remained the prime centres for violence, reporting nearly 94 per cent of all fatalities and 89 per cent of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations recorded during this time.