Daily Times

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber struck a vehicle carrying paramilitary troops in northwest on Monday, martyring two soldiers and wounding eight other people in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

The attack on the Frontier Corps (FC) took place in the upscale Hayatabad area of Peshawar.

The blast came a day after the Pakistani military said it had launched a fresh ground operation in a valley in the northwest, part of an offensive that began last November to clear the militancy-racked area.

Local senior police official Imran Malik, who gave the death toll, said four civilians were among the eight injured.

The Frontier Corps, which is part of the army, specialises in operations along the border with Afghanistan.

Another senior police official, Sajjad Khan, confirmed the attack and casualties, which the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed in a statement.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack, directing authorities to hunt down the perpetrators and adding they deserve ‘no mercy’.

Another FC man was martyred in a separate blast near FC check-post in Chaman area of Balochistan province on Monday. Another FC soldier was injured in the blast.

At least four suspected terrorists were killed during Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad in Zhob town of Balochistan.

A Frontier Corps (FC) post in Qamar Din Karez area was attacked with rockets and machine gun fires. FC officials retaliated, which resulted in an exchange of fire. Four suspected terrorists were killed in response by the troops, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Separately, police arrested two terrorist suspects and seized explosives, detonators, safety fuses and dynamite in Swabi on Monday. Swabi DSP said that explosives, 200 detonators, 150 metres of safety fuse wire and 67 dynamites were seized during search of a rickshaw in suburbs of the city. Two suspects on board were arrested during the action.

The law enforcement agencies arrested 85 suspects and seized arms and drugs during search operation in Kohat on Monday. The police and other LEAs personnel conducted joint operation against outlaws in Jungle Khel area of Kohat. Violence has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents along the northwestern border. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest.

Published in Daily Times, July 18th, 2017.