At least four people, including two police personnel, were martyred and more than 20 others injured in two separate explosions in South Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Saturday.
According to police officials, the first explosion occurred shortly before Iftar in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan. District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Tahir Shah said a planted bomb exploded near a police mobile van that was on routine patrol.
As a result of the blast, three people, including two police personnel and a civilian, were martyred while at least 10 others, including six policemen, sustained injuries.
The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital, where the condition of six of the wounded was reported to be critical, hospital authorities said.
Police said the area was crowded with people purchasing items for Iftar at the time of the explosion. Security in the area has been tightened and law enforcement agencies have launched a joint search operation following the incident.
In a separate incident in Lakki Marwat, an explosion occurred in a shop belonging to the brother of a member of a local peace committee. Police said one person was martyred while several others were injured in the blast.
Police said investigations were underway to determine whether the explosion was caused by a planted explosive device or a quad copter attack.
Separately, security forces killed 15 terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij and Fitna al Hindustan in two separate operations in Balochistan.
“An intelligence based operation (IBO) was conducted in Harnai District on reported presence of Khwarij ex Fitna al Khwarij. During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the Khwarij Hideout and after an intense engagement, 12 Indian sponsored Khwarij were sent to hell,” said a news release issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Another intelligence based operation (IBO) was conducted in Basima District. During the conduct of operation, own forces tracked presence of Terrorist ex Fitna al Hindustan and effectively engaged them using mix calibre weapons. After an intense fire exchange, three Indian sponsored terrorist were sent to hell, it further said.
Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed Khwarij and terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area. 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 will continue at full pace to wipe out menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the news release said.
Moreover, Pakistan’s Armed Forces carried out successful actions against the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij along the Pak-Afghan border in North and South Waziristan, destroying several of their posts and forcing the enemy to abandon their positions and flee.
Security sources said that several Afghan Taliban terrorists were killed, while the remaining retreated and fled. Afghan Taliban forces have suffered heavy losses due to the effective and powerful response by the Pakistan Army, they added. They said Operation Ghazab Lil Haq is still ongoing and will continue until its objectives are achieved.