Militant attacks on a rural health center in Bannu Cantt and Dera Ismail Khan killed 28 people, including 10 soldiers, two female health workers and two children, the Pakistan Army said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Department of Pakistan Army (ISPR) said in a press release that the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be In Cantt, the ongoing military operation since Monday morning was completed, as a result of which 10 militants belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group were killed while eight security personnel were also killed in the operation.
In another attack, five civilians, including two female health workers and two children, were killed in an attack on a medical center in Dera Ismail Khan district late on Monday night.
Two soldiers and three militants were killed in the clashes that followed the attack, the army said. According to the British news agency Reuters, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the second attack.
In its statement on the Bannu attack, the ISPR further said that ‘on the morning of July 15, 2024, a group of 10 terrorists attacked the Bannu cantonment. However, the attempt to enter the cantonment was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, following which the terrorists rammed a vehicle full of ammunition once morest the wall of the cantonment.
According to the statement, a section of the wall collapsed and adjacent infrastructure was damaged as a result of the suicide blast, resulting in the loss of life of eight security personnel.
Among them are Naib Subedar Muhammad Shahzad, Havaldar Zal Hussain, Havaldar Shahzad Ahmed, Sepoy Ashfaq Hussain Khan, Sepoy Subhan Majeed, Sepoy Imtiaz Khan, Sepoy Arsalan Aslam and Lance Naik Sabz Ali of Frontier Constabulary.
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The ISPR added that in the ensuing operation, troops effectively engaged the terrorists, resulting in the killing of all 10 terrorists.
According to the statement: ‘This timely and effective response by the security forces averted a major disaster, saving precious innocent lives. The bravery and selfless action of the security forces is a testament to their unrelenting determination in the war once morest terrorism.’
It was further said that this act of terrorism was carried out by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which operates from Afghanistan and has been using Afghan soil for terrorist activities inside Pakistan in the past.
“Pakistan has continuously expressed its concerns with the interim Afghan government and asked them to deny the continued use of Afghan territory by terrorists and to take effective action once morest such elements.”
According to the ISPR: ‘Pakistan’s armed forces will continue to defend the motherland and its people once morest this scourge of terrorism and will take all necessary measures deemed appropriate once morest these threats from Afghanistan.’
Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin told reporter Izharullah that the area has been cleared following completing the operation.
A Bannu police official told Independent Urdu yesterday that special SSG commandos of the Pakistan Army were called for the operation from Kohat.
During the operation, nearby areas including Bannu Cantt were completely sealed and no one was allowed to enter.
Bannu Cantt is a sensitive area, where military offices and police lines are located. Earlier in December 2022, militants attacked the compound of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) here and the militants were killed inside the compound following a long operation that lasted for regarding three days.
The recent attack on Bannu Cantt was claimed by Jaish-ul-Farsan, a sub-group of militant outfit Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the attacks by extremists in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu Cantt.
In the statements issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, while appreciating the personnel who participated in the Bannu operation, it was said that the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army and other security forces once morest terrorism are eternal.
He said that the entire nation stands with the security forces in the war once morest terrorism and is determined to completely eliminate the monster of terrorism.
On July 15, 2024, smoke can be seen billowing from the area as a result of the militant attack on Bannu Kent. The Pakistani military said in a statement on July 16 that 10 militants involved in the incident were killed while eight security personnel were also killed (Karimullah/AFP).
Operations of Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group in Pakistan
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group is associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and on some occasions both of them have carried out militant activities together.
On March 16 this year, following an attack on a security post in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area that killed seven Pakistani army personnel, Pakistan launched an operation once morest terrorists in the border areas inside Afghanistan on March 18 based on intelligence. what was
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan had said in its statement that ‘The target of the operation was terrorists belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which is responsible for several terrorist attacks in Pakistan along with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials lost their lives as a result of these attacks.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “During the last two years, Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concern to the Interim Afghan Government over the presence of terrorist organizations, including the TTP, in Afghanistan.” These terrorists are a serious threat to Pakistan’s security and have been continuously using Afghan soil to carry out terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil.’
On the other hand, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the head of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul and filed a protest record in response to the “deaths of women and children” as a result of the Pakistani army’s operations in Paktika and Khost provinces.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while condemning the attacks, informed Pakistan that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has a long experience of fighting for freedom once morest the world’s superpowers and will not tolerate any aggression on its soil. Can’t stand it.’
In recent times, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been seen and the border crossings between the two countries have been closed several times following clashes between the two countries.
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2024-07-17 03:39:39
