Two policemen martyred, three injured in another DI Khan terror attack

• Attack takes place at oil and gas company in Drazanda. 
• Injured cops shifted to hospital; one in critical condition.
• Search for attacker is ongoing, says police official. 

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Two policemen were martyred while three others sustained injuries in a terror attack at an oil and gas company in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday morning. 

According to the deputy superintendent of police (DSP), the terrorist attack took place in the Drazanda tehsil of DI Khan, martyring and injuring the police personnel. 

The injured cops and the bodies of the other two have been shifted to a hospital, said the DSP. He added that one of the policemen was in critical condition. 

The DSP said that the policemen were deployed for the security of the oil company, adding that the search for the suspects is underway.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the attack in DI Khan, saying that strict actions are required to completely eliminate the terrorists from the country. 

5th attack in 5 days

This was the fifth terror attack that has taken place in DI Khan in as many days. 

On Sunday, suspected militants attacked Gul Imam Police Station in the district's Tank area which was repelled by security personnel. One of the police constables got injured in the attack. 

The armed militants attacked the police station which resulted in a fire exchange between the police personnel and the attackers. The militants then fled the area.

On the same day, another policeman was injured in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in the Roori area of the Kulachi tehsil. The police said that the attackers used small and heavy weapons during an exchange of fire after which they managed to escape.

On Friday, at least six people were killed and more than 30 were injured including two policemen in a blast targeting a police van in DI Khan's Tank Adda area.

The vehicle was on its way from Ijaz Shaheed Police Lines to Kulachi tehsil when it was attacked with a remote-controlled blast.

In another blast near a police and army convoy martyred an officer in the Takwara area of Kulachi on Friday.

Pakistan has been facing the daunting challenge of terrorism as militant attacks have spiked in the last couple of months.

Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in a report released in October, noted that the security forces lost at least 386 personnel in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high.

In the third quarter of 2023, some 445 people lost their lives and 440 suffered injuries from as many as 190 terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for nearly 94% of all fatalities and 89% of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) recorded during this period.