Pakistan suffered two more terror attacks on Friday night, as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for attacking police checkposts in Peshawar and Taunsa Sharif.
During Friday night, reports emerged of unknown miscreants firing at Jhangi checkpost in Taunsa Sharif, Punjab, causing the deaths of head constable Mazhar and a passerby. At least two other policemen were reported to be critically injured in this attack.
A few hours later, in the early morning hours of Saturday (today), militants attacked two checkposts in Sarband area of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sardar Hussain, along with his two bodyguards, were responding to the scene at one of the checkposts, when they disembarked their vehicle and were then targeted by a militant sniper. The DSP and his two guards – identified as Jahanzaib and Irshaad – were martyred in the attack.
Reinforcements of the KP police immediately cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, but limited visibility at night and the threat of more casualties from hidden snipers prevented the search from being carried out before daybreak.
These two attacks across different provinces of Pakistan – and a coordinated attack on two checkposts in Peshawar at the same time – signal that the momentum of activity and operational initiative are currently retained by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Observers note that TTP militants are using high-powered sniper rifles and night vision equipment in their attacks on Pakistani forces, which greatly enhance the lethality and accuracy of their attacks, and also afford the terrorists greater stealth capabilities in combat.
In its claims, the banned TTP alleged that it had captured weapons, ammunition and uniforms in these attacks.
During Friday night, reports emerged of unknown miscreants firing at Jhangi checkpost in Taunsa Sharif, Punjab, causing the deaths of head constable Mazhar and a passerby. At least two other policemen were reported to be critically injured in this attack.
A few hours later, in the early morning hours of Saturday (today), militants attacked two checkposts in Sarband area of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sardar Hussain, along with his two bodyguards, were responding to the scene at one of the checkposts, when they disembarked their vehicle and were then targeted by a militant sniper. The DSP and his two guards – identified as Jahanzaib and Irshaad – were martyred in the attack.
Reinforcements of the KP police immediately cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, but limited visibility at night and the threat of more casualties from hidden snipers prevented the search from being carried out before daybreak.
These two attacks across different provinces of Pakistan – and a coordinated attack on two checkposts in Peshawar at the same time – signal that the momentum of activity and operational initiative are currently retained by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Observers note that TTP militants are using high-powered sniper rifles and night vision equipment in their attacks on Pakistani forces, which greatly enhance the lethality and accuracy of their attacks, and also afford the terrorists greater stealth capabilities in combat.
In its claims, the banned TTP alleged that it had captured weapons, ammunition and uniforms in these attacks.