Bannu | Pakistan

BANNU: Smoke billows from an alleged terrorist hideout, which was destroyed by security personnel during an intelligence-based operation.—Dawn LAKKI MARWAT: At least six law enforcement personnel were injured in a quadcopter attack on Miryan police station in Bannu district on Thursday amid an ongoing operation against terrorists in the Nurar area. A police official said a joint intelligence-based operation was launched by police, security forces and Counter-Terrorism Depar­tment (CTD) commandos targeting terrorists in the Miryan police station area. The operation followed intelligence about the presence of “Fitna al-Khawarij” — the state’s term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — in the region. “During the aerial att­a­ck, a quadcopter dropped explosives on the police station, causing an explosion that left two army soldiers, three CTD personnel and one police constable inju­red,” the police official said. The wounded officers were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital and the Combined ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police foiled a terrorist attack bid in the Nurar area of Bannu district late last night, an officer said on Monday. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu this month. Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi told Dawn.com: “A terrorist group was attempting to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Nurar area.” Upon receiving timely information, police and security forces took immediate action and surrounded the area, he added. During the action, the police targeted the terrorists through drones and thwarted their plans. “According to initial reports, the terrorists were killed while attempting to plant the IED,” the police official added. “Bannu police are fully alert and ready to deal with any kind of threat, and all resources are being utilised to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the public,” DPO Kul...

A terrorist attack on the Basia Khel police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district was successfully foiled, with the attackers forced to flee after a swift response by security personnel, a statement issued on Friday said. Bannu Police Spokesperson, Aamir Khan, told Dawn.com, “A big group of terrorists attacked the Basia Khel police station in the early hours of Friday using heavy weapons. However, the cops present at the police station bravely thwarted the attack.” Terming the attack “cowardly”, he added that all the police personnel present at the station were safe. “Station House Officer (SHO) Asmatullah Khan Niazi led the operation, and the collective and timely response of the police team forced the terrorists to flee,” said Khan. Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan and District Police Officer Saleem Abbasi commended the Basia Khel police station personnel for “braving the situation and responding promptly to protect the police station and their colleagues from harm”, the statement said. Pakistan...

Six Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were injured on Wednesday in a terrorist attack targeting a security checkpoint in the border area of Takhti Khel, located in Bannu district.

Six Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were injured in a “terrorist attack” at a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, a police spokesperson said. Bannu Police spokesperson Aamir Khan told Dawn.com: “Terrorists attacked a Frontier Constabulary checkpoint situated in the border area of Takhti Khel Wazir in Bannu. “As a result of the attack, six personnel of the FC were injured, but the immediate response of the constabulary forced the terrorists to flee.” Over a week ago, President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated an ordinance empowering the federal government to transform the FC, a border security force, into the Federal Constabulary. Aamir added that the injured constables have been taken to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu for treatment. “Police teams have been sent to the area and have begun a search operation to track down the terrorists,” he said. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, predominantly targeting the police, law e...

Three “wanted terrorists” were killed during a joint operation between the regional police and the Counter Terrorism Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday night, police said. The spokesperson for the Bannu police, Khanzala Quraishi, told Dawn.com, “The three terrorists, belonging to the Zarar group, had been eliminated in an intelligence-based joint operation conducted in the Bannu city outskirts at midnight.” He said that the “terrorists were wanted for attacks on security forces and the target killing of police personnel”. According to the spokesperson, the terrorists were identified and all of them were residents of Bannu. “Three Kalashnikovs, magazines, pistols and handmade improvised explosive devices were recovered from their possession,” he said. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. KP has seen an ...

A drone attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district claimed the life of a woman and left three others injured, police confirmed on Wednesday.

One person was killed while three children were injured after militants carried out two quadcopter attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, according to police. The incident comes after reports of multiple quadcopter and drone attacks in KP and Balochistan over the past year. In March, at least 11 people were killed in Mardan in what locals insisted was a drone strike, while in May, a suspected quadcopter munitions drop claimed the lives of four children and injured five others in North Waziristan District’s Mir Ali tehsil. The military clarified that security forces were “falsely implicated” in the incident and that it was carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi told Dawn.com: “Two quadcopter incidents occurred in the district today. In the first quadcopter attack by militants, one woman was killed while three children were injured, including two of the woman’s children.” The woman’s body and the injured people w...

Armed men hijacked three oil tankers and abducted seven crew members from the Tuchi bridge area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Monday, according to the police. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, leaving both provinces in a state of uncertainty. The provincial security situation has also been plagued by lawlessness. Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Khan Kulachi told Dawn.com: “The incident occurred near Marwat Canal in the Tuchi bridge area and a total of three oil tankers were hijacked and their seven crew members abducted” after the convoy was intercepted while coming from North Waziristan. Kulachi said that a first information report was lodged at the Baka Khel Police Station and a search operation was being conducted in the area. He added that no one had claimed responsibility or contacted anyone of the abductees’ families for ransom. Last week, at least one person was killed and three others were injured after ar...

At least one person was killed and three others were injured after armed assailants attacked a jirga in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, police said on Saturday. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities recently, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. Bannu police spokesperson Kashif Nawaz told Dawn.com, “The Sardi Khel community had organised a jirga in the Mandi Khel area, which was attacked by militants who attempted to take away the jirga leader, Malak Eid Nawaz Sardi Khel, resulting in a clash with the jirga participants.” He said that the armed men opened fire at the participants, killing one person and injuring three other people, including a police constable. Nawaz further said the injured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital Bannu for treatment. A police party had gone to the crime scene and searched for the terrorists while making efforts to maintain peace in the area, h...

A new case of wild poliovirus was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, taking the national tally to 12, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Friday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. Federal Minister for Health, Mustafa Kamal, on Thursday claimed that Pakistan has witnessed a decline of over 99 per cent in polio cases, saying that polio eradication remains a top priority of the government. According to the press release, the 33-month-old boy from Bannu’s Shamsikhel Union Council is the sixth case of polio reported from KP this year. “To date in 2025, Pakistan has reported a total of 12 cases of polio, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilg...

Several suspects were arrested and a cache of heavy weapons seized during a joint search and strike operation carried out by the police, counter terrorism department, and the army in Bannu district of Khyber Pakthunkwa. In a statement, Bannu police spokesperson, Khanzala Quraishi, said law enforcement agencies received a tip-off about the presence of suspicious individuals in Barganto and Kam Chashmi areas within the jurisdiction of Domel police station. Acting on the information, a large-scale operation was swiftly launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan and led by District Police Officer Saleem Abbas Kalachi, on the reported presence of terrorists. Bannu Brigade Commander Brigadier Naveed Ahmed, SP CTD Fazal Wahid, SP Investigation Sajid Mumtaz, SP Rural Mahmood Nawaz, SDPOs, SHOs, CTD officials, Quick Response Force (QRF), Ladies Police, BDS, and Pakistan Army personnel participated in the operation. During the operation, police deployed modern technology, including drone camera...

An explosion rocked an under-construction Rescue 1122 facility in the Nekam Kaki area of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday.

A cop was martyred and four others were injured as a result of gunfire between the public, police and terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, the police said on Thursday. Speaking to Dawn.com, spokesperson to the regional police officer, Khanzala Quraishi, said, “The members of the peace committee, along with police personnel, were patrolling the area when they were attacked by terrorists at around 12:30am.” He said that police personnel, Murtaza Jan, embraced martyrdom, while four others, including a school teacher and a police constable, were injured in the attack. “The incident took place within the limits of the Hoyed Police Station,” he said, adding that the “terrorists fled the scene due to the quick response from the police”. He continued: “The injured and the deceased were moved to a hospital. The school teacher is in critical condition.” KP Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed was also on a visit to the region for reviewing the security situation, he said. The spokesperson added tha...

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the bravery and professionalism of Pakistan’s security forces after they successfully stopped a terrorist attack in Bannu and killed three terrorists in Mianwali.

ISLAMABAD - Two more polio cases were detected from Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday taking the country’s total polio cases to 10 during the year 2025.

Two cops lost their lives as a result of an attack on a police checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, officials said. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed told Dawn.com, “Two policemen were martyred and one was injured in the attack. “Terrorists launched the attack using hand grenades late at night, causing some damage to the checkpost,” he said, adding that the assailants were not able to cause significant destruction due to the prompt action of the police. Some attackers fled after the attack, he said, adding that a search operation was underway. Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer (RPO), Sajjad Khan, said in a statement that “several terrorists were killed and injured as the police retaliated against the attack.” The attack occurred at the New Sabzi Mandi police checkpoint, in which advanced weaponry was used, he detailed. “The timely response by the police prevented a potentially major loss,” it added. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities ...

Peshawar - Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, on Sunday took serious notice of alleged irregularities in the Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) screening test held in Bannu on May 10.

A policeman was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of the Mandan police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Tuesday morning. Khanzala Quraishi, spokesperson for the Bannu regional police officer, told Dawn.com: “Police Constable Khanzeb was on his way to duty on a motorcycle when he was intercepted and targeted by unidentified assailants near the Asghar fuel station in the limits of Mandan police station.” He added that the policeman was killed on the spot by the intense firing and the body was moved to the District Headquarters Hospital Bannu after a heavy police contingent soon reached the spot. A statement from the police said that Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi also visited the incident site later in the day, inspecting the scene in detail and issuing strict instructions for the arrest of the culprits. The statement said the DPO himself, along with other police personnel, was present in the area for the operation to arrest the suspects. “We will not ...

Three Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police personnel were martyred and two injured late Wednesday night in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Bannu, officials said. According to a statement issued from the office of Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan today, the gun battle took place in the Spin Tangi area of Chashmi, Bannu. Bannu CTD personnel Assistant Sub-Inspector Benyamin Khan, Constable Inam Khan and Constable Musawar were martyred. Two constables, Wafid Khan and Imran, were wounded. He said two khawarij — a term the state uses to refer to terrorists — were killed and another two injured in police firing, and their accomplices took bodies and injured with them. “Weapons, ammunition, IEDs (improvised explosive device) and hand grenades were recovered from the terrorists, which were seized by the police,” the spokesman said. As soon as the incident was reported, RPO Khan, Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kalachi, and CTD Superintendent of Police reached the CTD hospita...