Assassination of three police officers in apparent double-explosion in northwest Pakistan - may Allah have mercy on them
As-salamu alaykum. I’m sharing a summary of a tragic incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
PESHAWAR - May Allah have mercy on them: three police officers, including a senior superintendent, were killed Friday in what appears to have been a double-explosion targeting a checkpoint in Hangu district.
According to officials, unknown militants first set off an explosive near the Ghulamiana checkpoint, damaging the post but not causing immediate casualties. When a police team led by Superintendent of Police (Operations) Asad Zubair arrived to inspect the scene, a second, larger bomb detonated, killing the three officers instantly and wounding a constable.
Hangu police said the vehicle of the police party hit an IED and the three officers were martyred on the spot. Reinforcements were sent to secure the area and the bodies were taken to a local hospital for post-mortems. Authorities say an investigation is ongoing and several leads are being followed.
Pakistani officials have long pointed to cross-border safe havens in Afghanistan as a driver of militant attacks, arguing violence rose after the Taliban took control in Kabul in 2021. They accuse groups like the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army of operating from across the border - an allegation Afghan authorities deny, calling it Pakistan’s internal security matter.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the attack and demanded an immediate report from the provincial police chief, saying such cowardly acts will not break the resolve of the police and Counter-Terrorism Department. “The sacrifices of the martyred officers will not be forgotten,” he said, promising to use all available resources to restore peace.
Please keep the families and colleagues of the officers in your duas.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/