Security forces foiled a major terrorist attack on the Dera Ismail Khan Police Training School in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after a six-hour joint operation. The attack left seven police officers dead and 13 others injured, while at least five terrorists, including a suicide bomber, were killed. Express News reported.
The attack began around 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the Ratta Kulachi area, when heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the training center. The attackers drove a truck loaded with explosives into the main entrance, causing part of the surrounding wall to collapse and killing a police officer on duty.
Following the explosion, terrorists dressed in mixed uniforms entered the premises and opened fire indiscriminately, Khorasan Dairy reported
“The area has been cleared and further search and clearance operations are underway,” said DPO Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad.
According to police officials, the operation was carried out jointly by the police, CTD and other security agencies. 13 injured soldiers were transferred to the trauma center of DHQ hospital, where they are being treated.
The Khorasan Diary monitoring team reported that the attackers had body cameras and livestreamed parts of the attack. Initially, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility, but later denied any involvement.
Read: DG ISPR blames KP failures for rise in terrorism
Muhammad Imran Khan, Director General Public Relations (DGPR) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, said around 200 police recruits and officers present at the training center at the time of the attack were safely evacuated. “All blocks of the school and NADRA office have been cleared,” he said.
During the operation, security forces recovered suicide vests, grenades, explosives and other munitions from the site. One of the attackers is believed to be a suicide bomber.
A day earlier, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry held a press conference in Peshawar to address the deteriorating security situation and rising terrorist activity across Pakistan.
He said the country’s anti-terrorism campaign has intensified, with over 10,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) carried out in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa this year alone, resulting in the elimination of nearly 1,000 militants.
Learn more: Jaffar Express attack: all terrorists killed; 21 passengers died before mine clearance operation: DG ISPR
DG ISPR has warned that the increasing involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents further complicates Pakistan’s security landscape. “Afghanistan is being used as a base to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan,” he said, urging the Taliban government to ensure that its territory is not used against Pakistan.
He noted that many militants active within the KP had ties to Afghanistan and used American weapons abandoned after the 2021 withdrawal.
Lieutenant General Chaudhry blamed the resurgence of terrorism on governance failures and poor implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). “The void of bad governance is filled by the blood of martyrs,” he said, stressing that effective implementation of the NAP and improved governance in the KP were crucial to defeating militancy.
