Cop martyred in terrorist attack on police vehicle in Bannu

BANNU: A head constable was martyred when a police vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district came under attack on Saturday, with the ensuing fire exchange killing two terrorists, according to police.

Militants attacked a police vehicle in the Sheikhan Mama Khel area, within the jurisdiction of Haved Police Station, resulting in the martyrdom of Head Constable Dilnawaz Khan and injuries to three other police personnel.

According to police, militants opened sudden fire on the vehicle while the police party was on routine duty, to which the police responded with effective retaliatory action.

The attackers set the police vehicle on fire after the assault.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan confirmed that two terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire, while around four others were injured. Police also took two motorcycles of the attackers into custody, and a search operation is underway in the area.

RPO Khan also visited the hospital and inquired after the injured personnel.

In a separate incident, police in Bannu’s Wazir tehsil successfully repulsed a militant attack.

According to police, Ahmadzai Police were on routine patrol near the under-construction circular road in the Khara Ghora area when militants opened fire on them. The police retaliated effectively, forcing the attackers to flee.

Local sources reported that some militants were also injured in the exchange of fire.

KP has seen a rise in terror attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.

On February 21, a lieutenant colonel and a sepoy were martyred in a suicide attack during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Bannu.

On March 13, terrorists attacked a checkpost guarding a camp of the internally displaced persons in the Bakakhel area of Bannu, leaving a police constable injured, while one attacker was killed in the retaliatory fire by the personnel.

On Monday night, a vacant police post located in Bannu’s Domel area was partially damaged in a bomb explosion.

On Thursday, unidentified miscreants blew up a government school in Bannu’s Ghora village.

As a result, the state has also intensified its counter-terrorism operations.

Earlier this month, the security forces killed 13 terrorists in five separate operations across KP, including one encounter in Bannu.