Pakistan: Four killed, three injured in firing by attackers in Kurram district

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: At least four people, including two security personnel, were killed and three others injured when armed assailants opened fire on a bus and a car in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Geo News reported. sunday. District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Imran said that the dead included two security personnel, a driver and a woman in the firing incident in Sadda area of Kurram district. He said the police have launched a search operation to nab the attackers, while security has been beefed up in the area.

“Armed attackers targeted two vehicles going from Parachinar to Peshawar,” Geo News quoted the DPO as saying. In a separate incident last week, six barbers were abducted and murdered, after which their bodies were dumped in a field in tribal Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan.

Geo News, citing local and official sources, reported that bullet-riddled bodies of six people were found in a field in Maski village in Mir Ali. Preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were shot after being kidnapped.
All the deceased were barbers, said to be non-locals and had recently shifted to North Waziristan. They were running barber shops in Mir Ali Bazaar.

Notably, the year 2023 witnessed a worrying increase in terror-related incidents in the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular, as it witnessed 419 terrorist attacks in which 620 people were killed, including 306 security forces personnel, 222 Civilians and 92 others were involved. According to Geo News, militants.
Whereas, 977 were injured, which included 525 security forces personnel, 402 civilians and 50 terrorists.

More violence was recorded in mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa compared to the newly merged districts (erstwhile FATA) – an 84 percent increase in terrorist attacks. There were 235 terrorist attacks in which 336 people were killed, including 213 security forces personnel, 67 civilians and 56 terrorists, while 589 were injured, including 383 security forces personnel, 163 civilians and 43 terrorists.

Meanwhile, there were 184 terrorist attacks in FATA, in which 284 people were killed – including 155 civilians, 93 security forces personnel and 36 terrorists – while 388, including 239 civilians, 142 security forces personnel and seven terrorists, were killed. News told. ,
The region saw a 59 percent increase in terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to 2022.