Two soldiers and five civilians were martyred in a terrorist attack on a rural health centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday.
A statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that between the night of Monday and Tuesday, terrorists “carried out a cowardly attack” on a rural health centre in the district’s Kirri Shamozai area and opened indiscriminate fire on staff.
“Resultantly, five innocent civilians, including two lady health Workers, two children and one watchman embraced martyrdom.
“Security forces in vicinity were immediately mobilised for clearance operation in rural health centre and in ensuing fire exchange, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists as a result of which three terrorists were sent to hell,” the ISPR said.
It added that 44-year-old Naib Subedar Muhammad Farooq, a resident of Narowal district, and 23-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Javed Iqbal, a resident of Khanewal district, were martyred during the intense exchange of fire.
“Sanitisation of area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area. The perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act targeting innocent civilians, especially women and children, will be brought to justice.” the ISPR said.
The funeral prayers of the two soldiers were later offered.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident.
Earlier, the ISPR said that a terrorist attack targeting Bannu Cantonment on Monday martyred eight members of the security forces while a retaliatory operation killed 10 terrorists.
According to a press release issued today, an attempt by 10 terrorists to enter Bannu Cantonment in the early hours of Monday was “effectively thwarted” by security forces personnel, “which forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into perimeter wall of the cantonment.”
Resultantly, the suicide blast caused a portion of a wall to collapse and damaged infrastructure, resulting in the martyrdom of eight security forces, it said.
The martyrs were identified as Naib Subedar Muhammad Shehzad, 44; Havildar Zil-e-Hussain, 39; Havildar Shahzad Ahmed, 28; Sepoy Ashfaq Hussain Khan, 30; Sepoy Sobhan Majeed, 22; Sepoy Imtiaz Khan, 30; Sepoy Arsalan Aslam, 26, belonging to the Pakistan Army as well as Lance Naik Sabz Ali, 34, of the Frontier Constabulary.
“In the ensuing operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists as a result of which all ten terrorists were sent to hell,” the statement said.
“This timely and effective response by the security forces prevented major catastrophe, saving precious innocent lives.
“The gallant and selfless action of the security forces is a testament of unrelenting resolve in fight against terrorism.”
The ISPR statement attributed the “heinous act of terrorism” to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, “which operates from Afghanistan and has used Afghan soil to orchestrate acts of terrorism inside Pakistan in the past as well.”
Pakistan has consistently raised its concerns with the interim Afghan Government, asking it to deny persistent use of Afghan soil by the terrorists and take effective action against such elements, the statement read.
“Pakistan armed forces will keep defending the motherland and its people against this menace of terrorism and will take all necessary measures as deemed appropriate against these threats emanating from Afghanistan.”
The funeral prayers of the martyrs were offered.
A day ago, officials told Dawn that militants stormed a check post adjacent to a supply depot, adding that bombers hit the boundary wall of the cantonment near the depot in their attempt to force their entry but security forces besieged them.
“Two suicide bombers attacked the check post initially and then a few others managed to enter, but they were besieged,” the officials said.
They stated that security personnel were fully alert and engaged the militants foiling the attack with a timely response, adding that soldiers fought bravely.
A police official said they increased patrolling in urban and rural localities of Bannu district after the explosion, adding that roads leading to the cantonment were sealed as part of measures to avert any loss to citizens during the exchange of fire between security forces and militants.
Locals said the magnitude of the blast could be judged by the fact that it was heard far and wide in the area. A resident said he heard the explosion in Domel town, some 15 kilometres from Bannu city. They said they saw black smoke billowing above the site and also heard gunshots in the cantonment area.
The residents said the blast caused damage to nearby houses and shops, smashed windowpanes and blew up shutters of outlets.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the terrorist attack, paying homage to the martyrs.
The president said that the security forces acted on time and saved the country from a “major disaster”, adding that the nation was proud of their efforts.
He paid tribute to the forces for successfully deterring a terrorist attack in Bannu and called for the complete annihilation of the terrorist elements.
President Zardari prayed for the deceased and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also paid tribute to the security forces for foiling the terrorist attack.
He paid homage to the martyred army and frontier constabulary personnel and prayed for the families of the martyrs.
“The whole nation stands with security forces in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“We are determined to end the menace of terrorism,” he added.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 — marking a record six-year high.
KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.
