Militant attack on security post in restive northwest Pakistan claims 2 lives

Militants armed with assault rifles attacked a security post today in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, resulting in the deaths of a police officer and a civilian, Arab News reported.

The civilian was identified as a Customs Department employee. Another police officer sustained injuries during the assault at the Draban Post.

Local police official Abdullah Khan reported that security forces returned fire, causing the attackers to flee the scene. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which frequently targets security forces in the region.

In response to the increasing violence, security forces have intensified intelligence-based operations against the TTP, which has become more emboldened since the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP operates as a separate entity but maintains close ties with the Afghan Taliban.