COAS attends funeral prayers of martyred security personnel in Peshawar

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff ( COAS ) General Qamar Javed Bajwa attended the funeral prayers of 11 security personnel, including an officer, martyred in a suicide attack on Saturday.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Commander Peshawar Corps and other senior civil and military officials were also present at the prayers held in Peshawar.

General Bajwa later visited the CMH Hospital in the provincial capital to meet those injured in the incident.

Swat suicide attack

A suicide attack targetted at an Army unit in Swat's tehsil Kabal on Saturday evening claimed lives of 11 security personnel and left 13 others injured.

The attacker had targetted the sports area of the armed forces' unit in the Shareefabad area of the tehsil. A large contingent of security personnel had secured the area after the attack and started an initial investigation into the blast.

Government sources had said rescue teams reached the area and shifted the injured to a hospital in Saidu Sharif.

Earlier in December, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Swat's Jahan Abad area and killed two wanted terrorists.

The operation was conducted after intelligence agencies received accurate information regarding movement of terrorists, who were crossing over from Afghanistan and entering Swat valley.

Operations in the valley

Swat in northwest Pakistan referred to by some as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan”, is known for its stunning natural beauty. The valley was briefly controlled by the Taliban between 2007 and 2009.

The armed forces have carried a series of military operations against local and foreign terrorists in the scenic Swat valley.

Operation Rah-e-Haq was launched thrice in the valley and Shangla district in 2007, 2008, and 2009 respectively.

The army advanced toward Mingora, the largest city in the valley after it launched the Swat Operation, also known as Operation Rah-e-Rast, in May 2009.