Pakistan: Govt official, 2 cops among 5 killed in TTP ambush in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

TTP ambush in Bannu kills govt official, 2 policemen amid rising militancy

At least five people were killed on Tuesday when Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants targeted a government vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district. The attack hit the convoy of North Waziristan’s assistant commissioner, Shah Wali, who died along with two policemen, according to sources.

TTP, referred to by the Pakistani state as “Fitna-al-Khawarij,” remains banned in the country.

The incident comes amid a surge in militant activity, a day after Pakistani security forces killed three TTP fighters in Balochistan. The action followed a suicide bombing at the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Nokkundi, where the bomber detonated at the main gate. “Suicide attackers” also enabled at least six armed militants to enter the facility, Dawn reported, citing the FC Balochistan South spokesperson.

A checkpost in the Gurmakan area of Panjgur district was also attacked around the same time.

Militancy led by TTP has intensified across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan since the group unilaterally ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November 2022.

Just days earlier, seven explosions struck Quetta and Dera Murad Jamali on November 29, including a railway blast that damaged tracks and halted train movement, according to Dawn.