Three traffic wardens martyred after gunmen attack police vehicle in K-P’s Tank

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

Three traffic wardens were martyred, and at least one other was seriously injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on a traffic police vehicle in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Wazirabad area of Tank district on Monday, District Police Officer Abdul Samad said.

The incident took place near Shehzada Market in Wazirabad, where the attackers opened fire on the vehicle carrying traffic police personnel, according to police. The three officers who were killed were identified as Constable Saleem Shah, Constable Gul Ameen, and driver Pir Fayyaz.

One injured officer was identified as Qaiser Mohammad Walid Khan, a resident of Barwand, while another injured person was identified as Zafri Garha Baloch, according to the details provided by officials.

Police said the attackers also took the traffic police vehicle with them after the shooting. The whereabouts of traffic police in-charge Ismatullah remained unknown, police said.

Police and army personnel launched a search operation to trace the attackers and the stolen vehicle after receiving information about the incident. The vehicle was later found abandoned near a bridge under construction in Garha Budha, officials said.

Police said the attackers had been identified as members of Fitna al-Khawarij, while the bodies of the martyred officers and the injured were shifted to Tank Hospital.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the firing incident by Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists. Naqvi expressed grief over the martyrdom of three traffic police personnel in the attack and offered his condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families of the deceased.

“We salute the sacrifice of the martyred personnel,” Naqvi said. “We stand with the families of the martyrs in this hour of grief,” he said.

“The invaluable sacrifices of the martyrs in the war against terrorism will not go in vain,” the minister added.

The latest attack came days after a suicide bombing at a joint Customs, police and Excise checkpoint in Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan on September 26, in which 13 people, including two women, a minor girl and a Customs inspector, were killed and 26 others were injured. The blast was followed by separate attacks on a police Quick Response Force vehicle and a Rescue 1122 ambulance, killing two rescuers and injuring two others.

The Darazinda attack came a week after a blast at a mosque in Kohat’s Police Lines during Friday prayers on September 18 killed 23 people, including 15 police personnel, while eight terrorists were killed during a subsequent search and clearance operation. Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), led by Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, later claimed responsibility for the bombing and subsequent attacks involving multiple assailants.

In September, two Frontier Constabulary personnel, Havaldar Ishaq and Sepoy Umar Hayat, were allegedly abducted by unidentified armed men in Bannu before their bodies were recovered from a graveyard in Palosi. 

Earlier this month, a police constable was martyred and another injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on their vehicle during a routine patrol in Karak’s Shatakai Dam area. 

In August, a police patrol vehicle in Karak was targeted with a remotely controlled improvised explosive device, killing its driver and injuring six other policemen.