In separate incident, mortar shell explosion kills one child and injures eight others, including women and children
Additional SHO Gul Mano Din, Wara Mamund Police Station, Bajaur. Photo file
PESHAWAR:
An additional station house officer (SHO) was laid to rest on Sunday after he was martyred in a brazen terrorist attack on a police station in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Saturday.
District Police Officer (DPO) Bajaur Waqas Rafiq confirmed the incident, saying that police and security forces launched a search operation in the area after the attack.
According to officials, the assault took place at Wara Mamond Police Station in the Umari area of Tehsil Wara Mamond, Bajaur. They said unidentified armed men opened fire on the police station, and police returned fire.
Additional SHO Gul Mano Din, who was on duty, was martyred after being hit during the exchange of fire. The martyred officer was laid to rest with full state honours. Earlier, funeral prayers were offered in his native village of Laghari.
Read More: SHO among five cops martyred in DI Khan
During the 2009 operation in Bajaur, the father of Gul Mano Din, Juma Din, was also martyred in a rocket attack at the Nakhtar check post.
The martyred officer is survived by his son Abdul Rashid and his brothers Taj Muhammad, Israr, and Niaz Muhammad.
Child killed, eight injured in mortar shell explosion
In a separate incident, at least one child was killed and eight others, including women and children, were injured in a suspected mortar shell explosion in Bajaur district, rescue officials said.
The incident occurred in Salarzai tehsil’s Kardok area, where a group of children found a suspected mortar shell while playing and brought it home. The explosive device later detonated unexpectedly, resulting in multiple casualties.
Rescue sources confirmed that nine people sustained injuries in the blast. One of the injured children, identified as Anas, son of Hazrat, later succumbed to his wounds.
The other injured individuals include Wajid, son of Inayat; Yaman, son of Jehan; Jawad, son of Jehan; Shahid, son of Abdul Waheed; a minor girl, daughter of Fazal Waheed; and three women identified as the wives of Hazrat, Jahan and Abdul Waheed.
All injured persons were shifted to the headquarters hospital in Khar for medical treatment.
Authorities and security agencies cordoned off the area following the explosion and collected evidence from the site. Officials said further investigations into the incident are underway.
The attacks on police stations and officials across K-P have increased in recent days. Last week, five police personnel, including SHO, were martyred and a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) along with his driver sustained critical injuries during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the limits of Panyala police station, Dera Ismail Khan.
According to police, the incident took place in the Wanda Budh area of Paharpur tehsil after police received intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the locality.
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A police party was dispatched to conduct an operation. The terrorists, who were lying in ambush opened indiscriminate fire on the team. The police retaliated which led to a prolonged exchange of gunfire.
As a result, SHO Panyala Fahim Mumtaz Khan Marwat, Constable Tauqeer, Constable Irfan, Constable Ghulam Subhani and Constable Wajahat embraced martyrdom.
DSP Paharpur Circle Hafiz Muhammad Adnan Khan and his driver Muhammad Tariq were critically injured and shifted to Civil Hospital for medical treatment.
Similarly, police also foiled a major terrorist attack on the Khoniakhel police post in Bannu’s Wazir subdivision a late Tuesday night, killing three terrorists and injuring nine others during an exchange of fire.
According to police, a large number of heavily armed terrorists launched a coordinated assault on the police post.
Sources maintained that the terrorists attempted to besiege and seize control of the facility. However, police personnel on duty were already on high alert and responded swiftly to the attack.
A gun battle ensued as police returned fire, forcing the attackers to retreat.
