At least 10 people killed in attack on Pakistani police station

Police officers in the Draban area of Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province said that at around 3 a.m. local time, a militant attacked a police station with a sniper rifle and then entered the building.

Security personnel stand guard outside a hospital where injured police officers are being treated after an attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, February 5, 2024. Photo: Reuters

"After entering the building, the terrorists used hand grenades, causing more casualties among the police," said Deputy Superintendent of Police Malik Anees ul Hassan in Draban area.

It is not yet clear which militants were behind the attack and whether it was linked to the election.

Pakistan is facing two insurgencies, one in the northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province led by Islamist groups and one in the southwest led by Baloch separatists.

Earlier on January 31, a parliamentary candidate was shot dead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. On the same day, another political leader was murdered at his party’s election office in Balochistan province.

A day earlier, a bomb attack in Balochistan province following a protest killed at least four people. The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility.

The Draban region is considered a stronghold of the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party. Local media reported that Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman, the leader of the JUI-F, traveled to Afghanistan last month to meet the Taliban's spiritual leader, one of his rare known meetings with foreign officials.

The party also called for a delay in elections in Pakistan due to security concerns.

Since 2022, Pakistan has seen an increase in Islamist militant attacks, especially those targeting security personnel, as a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government has broken down.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tan-cong-khung-bo-don-canh-sat-o-pakistan-it-nhat-10-si-quan-thiet-mang-post283712.html