Tank Bannu attacks on Saturday left a police clerk martyred in Tank and police personnel injured in a drone strike in Bannu, as violence hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern districts on a single day.
The attacks came on the same day a bomb disposal official was martyred in South Waziristan while defusing an explosive device in Sararogha tehsil.
Tank Bannu attacks: clerk killed in Tank
A senior clerk of the police force, Saadat Hussain, was martyred and his son was wounded in an attack in Tank district on Saturday, The News reported. The injured man was shifted to hospital, while police launched a search operation to arrest the attackers.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the clerk, and police have not said where in Tank district it took place. The killing adds to a run of attacks on police and civilians in the southern districts, where officers are targeted on roads, at posts and in their offices.
Conflicting accounts of the Bannu drone attack
In Bannu, three police personnel were injured in an alleged drone attack near Itwar Mela (Kasho Nala) in Domel tehsil, The News reported. According to initial reports, the personnel were targeted in a suspected drone strike. A Rescue 1122 team rushed to the scene and gave first aid to the injured officials, who were then shifted to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.
Dawn reported a different account of the attack in Domel on the same day. It said a police constable, identified as Sabir, was injured in a drone attack on a police post in the Kotka Mohammad Khan area of Domel tehsil and was rushed to the same hospital.
The two accounts differ on the number of injured and the exact location, though both place the attack in Domel tehsil on Saturday and both say the injured were taken to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital. No group has claimed responsibility for the drone attack. Drone strikes have become a recurring threat in Bannu and the surrounding districts, with quadcopters used to drop explosives on police posts, camps and homes.
Grenade attack fails in Lower South Waziristan
In a separate incident on the same day, a hand grenade attack on police in Lower South Waziristan failed. An unidentified person wearing a burqa threw a hand grenade near where police personnel were seated in Toi Khulla Bazaar. The grenade did not explode, and the attacker fled. Police said the person’s identity could not be established because they were wearing a burqa.
Officers registered an initial report and launched a search for the suspect. The failed attack created anxiety in the area, coming on the same day as the fatal blast in the neighbouring district.
A day of pressure on the southern districts
The three incidents came amid a persistent surge in attacks in Upper and Lower South Waziristan over the past two years, with police, security forces and civilians increasingly targeted. Bomb disposal teams work at the sharp end of that threat, called out to roadsides, markets and villages to deal with devices planted to kill patrols and passers-by.
The pressure on police in the province is one reason Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced plans to fill 17,000 vacant police posts. At the same time, advisers have warned that the terror threat persists in the province, and that trade with Afghanistan cannot resume while attacks continue from Afghan soil.
In Bannu itself, the Wazir subdivision police have announced they will form a police peace committee, with a meeting of personnel from the subdivision to be held at Bannu Police Lines on Sunday. Separately, the Hathikhel tribes have formed an armed lashkar against terrorists. The steps show communities and police reaching for local answers while the attacks continue.
Frequently asked questions
Who was killed in Tank?
Saadat Hussain, a senior clerk of the police force, was martyred in an attack in Tank district on Saturday. His son was wounded and shifted to hospital. Police have launched a search operation to arrest the attackers.
What happened in the Bannu drone attack?
Accounts differ. The News reported three police personnel injured in an alleged drone attack near Itwar Mela (Kasho Nala) in Domel tehsil. Dawn reported one constable, Sabir, injured in a drone attack on a police post in the Kotka Mohammad Khan area of the same tehsil. Both say the injured were taken to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.
What happened in Lower South Waziristan?
An unidentified person wearing a burqa threw a hand grenade at police personnel seated in Toi Khulla Bazaar. The grenade failed to explode and no one was hurt. The attacker fled and has not been identified.
What is the wider context?
The attacks came on the same day a bomb disposal official was martyred in South Waziristan. Attacks have risen in Upper and Lower South Waziristan over the past two years, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced plans to fill 17,000 vacant police posts.
