RAWALPINDI: Security forces killed 10 terrorists on Thursday after foiling a suicide attack on a checkpost near Jandola Fort in South Waziristan, according to a statement from the interior ministry and security sources.
According to security sources, the attackers opened fire after the explosion, with sources confirming that the attack was a suicide bombing. Security officials stated that several militants were neutralised outside the gate of the Jandola Fort checkpoint in South Waziristan.
The suicide bomber detonated their explosives at the southern gate, resulting in injuries to two security personnel. The identification process for the terrorists is currently ongoing, security sources revealed.
According to the statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to security forces for repelling the attack.
“I salute the security forces for foiling the attack,” he said and commended them for bringing 10 terrorists to “an exemplary end”.
“The nation is proud of the professional capabilities of the security forces and stands by them” in their efforts to eliminate terrorists, Naqvi added.
Last week, security personnel killed three terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Tank district.
Earlier this month, 16 terrorists were killed while five soldiers were martyred as security forces responded to a terrorist attack on the Bannu Cantonment.
The terrorists had rammed two explosives-laden vehicles into the perimeter of the Bannu Cantonment in an attempt to enter the high-security zone. Thirteen civilians were killed, while another 32 were injured as a result of a mosque and a residential building collapsed due to the suicide blasts, causing the perimeter wall to partially collapse.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) report revealed that February saw a marginal increase in terrorist attacks but a sharp surge in civilian casualties.
The report, published after the Bannu Cantt attack, said that the country witnessed 79 terrorist attacks last month, claiming the lives of 55 civilians and 47 security personnel, while 45 civilians and 81 security personnel were injured. Security forces, meanwhile, intensified counter-terrorism operations, eliminating 156 terrorists, injuring 20, and arresting 66, it said.
