DSP, gunman martyred in Lakki Marwat attack

• Senior police officer, security guard martyred in Lakki Marwat.
• Police say militants attacked DSP's car near Manjiwala Chowk.
• Search operation launched in area to hunt for attackers.
  

LAKKI MARWAT: A deputy superintendent of police (DSP), along with his gunmen, was martyred in a militant attack targeting a police vehicle in Lakki Marwat, according to a statement issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police on Saturday.

It added that the policemen came under attack near the Manjiwala Chowk as a result of which Lakki Marwat DSP Gul Mohammad Khan and Constable Naseem Gul embraced martyrdom, while another policeman sustained injuries and was shifted to a hospital.

A heavy contingent of police reached the spot after the incident and launched a search operation.

In a separate incident on Friday, a police constable was martyred when unidentified armed men opened fire on the post-polio campaign assessment team in the Manra area in Birmil tehsil in Lower South Waziristan district.

SHO Zabihullah Wazir of Raghzai Police Station said that the post-polio campaign assessment/monitoring team was on a visit to the area when unidentified persons fired at the police constable on security duty killing him on the spot.

However, the polio monitoring staff escaped unhurt in the firing.

Security report

The latest terror attack is a grim reminder that the security situation in the provinces bordering Afghanistan is precarious.

A quarterly report issued by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) noted the worsening security situation in KP and Balochistan.

The report stated that at least 92% of all fatalities and 86% of attacks, including those related to terrorism and security forces operations, were recorded in the two provinces in the first quarter of 2024.

These key findings were revealed in the Q1 2024 Security Report issued by the think-tank, detailing that the country witnessed at least 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

Among the 432 fatalities, 281 included that of civilians and security forces personnel.

The KP and Balochistan province alone have accounted for 51% and 41% of the total fatalities in Q1, 2024, respectively. The data indicates that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8% of all deaths.

In addition to the casualties related to terrorism and counter-terrorism, 64 incidents of sabotage in the country, targeting properties of the government, politicians, private properties, and security properties were also recorded.

Percentage surged in violence, with the number of fatalities jumping to 178 from 91 in October to December — the fourth quarter of 2023. The Sindh province also saw a nearly 47% rise in violence, however, the number of fatalities was very low.