Injured are immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, where they are receiving medical treatment
Police mobile vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a patrol. PHOTO: EXPRESS
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
At least five police personnel were injured when a police mobile vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a patrol in the Shahbazkhel police station area of Lakki Marwat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province on Tuesday.
According to District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan, “The police vehicle was targeted with a motorcycle-borne IED, resulting in injuries to five officers, including an assistant sub-inspector Jamaluddin, constable Arif and driver Mir Hassan”.
The injured were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, where they are receiving medical treatment.
Upon receiving information about the incident, DPO Khan reached the site along with a heavy police contingent, CTD and BDS teams. He reviewed the situation in detail and directed officials to investigate all aspects of the incident.
He instructed that those involved be arrested at the earliest and brought to justice. Security in the area has been further tightened, while a large-scale search operation is underway.
Read: IED blast in K-P’s Lakki Marwat injures 7, including three police personnel
K-P has been battling terrorism since the United States’ ouster from Afghanistan, with terrorists often crossing the border to target police convoys and vehicles, resulting in the deaths of several officials and personnel.
Last month, at least seven police personnel, including the station house officer of Shadi Khel Police Station, were martyred in an IED explosion near a police mobile in Lakki Marwat. A week before that, two policemen were killed and 15 people, including five police personnel, were injured in an IED blast in the Rustam Bazaar area of Wana in Lower South Waziristan.
The province has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, accounting for the highest number of incidents in the country. Out of a total of 5,397 reported incidents last year, K-P recorded 3,811, followed by Balochistan with 1,557 incidents. Only 29 incidents were reported from the rest of the country. A total of 2,597 terrorists were killed during the year.
