At least six policemen martyred in IED attack on police vehicle in KP's Tank

TANK: At least six cops were martyred on Monday when an improvised explosive device (IED) hit their armoured vehicle on Gomal Bazaar road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Tank district.

The blast destroyed the armoured vehicle, which was returning from Gomal Police Station. Additional Station House Officer (SHO) Ishaq Khan was among those martyred, police said.

Soon after the incident, law enforcement agencies reached the site and cordoned off the area, while an investigation into the attack was launched.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of police personnel in a terrorist attack.

In their separate statements today, both prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

The latest attack on police personnel comes a week after four policemen were martyred in two different incidents of firing carried out by unidentified assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts. 

In Lakki Marwat, unidentified motorcycle-riding terrorists opened fire on traffic police personnel in Sarai Naurang city, resulting in the martyrdom of three officers, according to a police spokesperson.

Separately in Bannu, a police constable was martyred after unidentified individuals opened fire in the Mandan area. Police had said constable Rashid Khan came under attack while he was on his way from home to report for duty at Mandan Police Station.

A day earlier, KP police foiled a major terror bid as they neutralised eight terrorists during joint operations of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in different parts of the province on Sunday.

The operations had been conducted in the tribal districts of Bannu, Khyber, and Zahir Garhi — a suburban area of KP capital Peshawar. The police claimed that they eliminated eight terrorists involved in attacks on the security forces, besides the recovery of a huge cache of weapons and other equipment.

According to the Central Police Office (CPO), two terrorists were killed in an operation carried out by the local police and CTD Bannu region.

The CPO identified the slain militants as the attackers of Sheikh Lindak and Fatah Khel's police posts. It added that terrorists were also linked to assaults on security forces and an attack on an under-construction rescue building in the city.

Weapons and mobile phones were recovered from the deceased terrorists, the CPO confirmed.

Meanwhile, CTD Khyber killed three terrorists during an operation in Khyber, the CPO confirmed, detailing that the operation, carried out near the Shah Kas Bypass Road, successfully foiled a major terrorist plot.

Another operation was conducted in Zahir Garhi, a suburban area of Peshawar, in which the CTD personnel neutralised three terrorists.

KP Inspector General Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed praised the police and the CTD personnel for their bravery and successful operations. He said targeted operations would continue to maintain law and order.

Terrorist attacks have seen a sharp increase in Pakistan, particularly in the bordering provinces of KP and Balochistan, since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban regime came into power.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a statement on November 25, 2025, said that 67,023 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted across Pakistan — mostly in KP and Balochistan — during the ongoing year as part of counterterrorism efforts.

He said that as many as 1,873 terrorists, including 136 Afghan nationals, have been killed in 12,857 IBOs carried out in KP and 53,309 in Balochistan this year till November 2025.

Pakistan has time and again called on the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul to prevent its soil from being used by terrorists against Pakistan, and the issue recently resulted in heightened tensions featuring cross-border attacks by the Afghan side, resulting in retaliation from Pakistani forces as well.