KP CM condemns DI Khan attack

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Friday condemned the latest terrorist attack in Dera Ismail Khan that left 10 paramilitary soldiers dead.

At least 10 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on an outpost near DI Khan, police sources said.

Thursday’s attack, claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comes as Pakistan battles a resurgence of terrorist attacks in its rugged northwest, as well as a growing ethnic separatist insurgency in the south.

Three senior police sources confirmed the attack, saying a large group of terrorists stormed the outpost, killing members of the frontier constabulary security force.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one.

In its statement claiming responsibility, the TTP group said the attack was retaliation for the killing of a senior leader, Ustad Qureshi.

Qureshi was one of nine people, including two suicide bombers, killed in an intelligence-based operation in the district of Bajaur bordering Afghanistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Thursday.

The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement, but pledges loyalty to the terrorist group that now rules Afghanistan after U.S.-led international forces withdrew in 2021.

Islamabad says the TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and says the ruling Taliban administration has provided safe havens to the group close to the border.