PESHAWAR: Seven militants and four policemen, including a senior officer, were killed in two separate security engagements in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officials said on Wednesday.
The incidents occurred in the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts bordering Afghanistan, areas that have seen a resurgence of militant attacks in recent years, particularly by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which frequently targets police posts and security forces.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing militant groups, including the TTP to operate from Afghan territory and stage cross-border attacks, an allegation Kabul denies. The dispute has strained ties between the two neighbors and fueled security tensions along the frontier.
In the first incident, three militants were killed after police repelled an overnight assault on the Khunia Khel police post in Bannu district, which borders Afghanistan.
Aamir Khan, spokesperson for the Regional Police Officer in Bannu, said heavily armed militants launched a pre-dawn attack in what appeared to be an attempt to overrun the facility. Police personnel stationed at the post returned fire.
