Three cops, including a superintendent of police (SP), were martyred as back-to-back blasts rocked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu on Friday, according to police.
KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed shared these detail, saying that the first blast targeted a police checkpost in the jurisdiction of Baliamina police station.
He said no policemen were usually deployed at the checkpost, adding that some policemen were on their way to the site when a second blast took place near their vehicle.
Three policemen were martyred in the second blast, which was caused by an improvised explosive device, the IG said.
Kohat division’s Regional Police Officer (RPO) Abbas Majeed shared further details of the incident while speaking to the media in Hangu.
He said police security was on high-alert today in Hangu, as well as in other districts of Kohat.
Police had been carrying out a search and strike operation in the area and had also cordoned off a location at a distance of around 100 metres from the targeted checkpost since 10am, the RPO said. He added that the checkpost, an old one, was used by law enforcement personnel to rest during breaks when they would cordon off a nearby location.
“There was no one at the checkpost at the time of the incident,” he said, adding that an IED blast took place at the checkpost at 2pm. “However, since no police personnel were present there, there were no casualties.”
The RPO said SP (Operations) Asad Zubair, along with a police party, had left for the checkpost following the first blast. “As their vehicle approached the location, an IED blast occurred near the checkpost. Fitna-al-Khawarij had planted a more powerful IED there in comparison to the one used in the first blast.”
RPO Majeed said the second blast was a “big” one, which resulted in the death of two policemen on the spot. Meanwhile, SP Zubair was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, he added.
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi sought an immediate report from the IG following the incident.
Separately, at least eight “Indian-sponsored” terrorists were killed during an Intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district as part of operation “Azm e Istehkam”, the military’s media wing said on Friday.
In the operation in Tank, “troops effectively engaged terrorist locations, and after an intense fire exchange, eight Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
“On 24 October 2025, on [the] reported presence of Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Tank District,” the statement read.
In July, the government designated the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as Fitna al Khawarij, mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, the ISPR said.
It added that the slain terrorists “remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and law enforcement agencies as well as killing of innocent civilians.”
“Sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored Kharji found in the area as relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under vision “Azm e Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan [who] will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen reportedly attacked a construction company’s camp in Khuzdar district and ‘abducted 20 labourers’. The assailants also torched several vehicles and heavy machinery, causing extensive damage to the site.
Officials said the incident occurred in the remote Kaleri area of Naal, about 80 kilometres from Khuzdar. Armed men reportedly blocked the highway before storming the private company’s camp and crush plant.
According to Levies officer Ali Akbar, the attackers set fire to machinery and vehicles at the site, damaging at least eight, including heavy equipment and transport trucks. “The gunmen then forcibly took several workers with them,” he said, adding that most of the abducted labourers hailed from Sindh province and had gone to Balochistan for work.
Following the incident, security forces, including the Levies, Frontier Corps, and Counter Terrorism Department, launched a joint search operation. Authorities have cordoned off the area. Local tribal elders are providing all possible help to the agencies in their efforts to locate the missing workers. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and kidnapping the workers.