Four police personnel, including a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) deputy superintendent and a station house officer, were killed in an exchange of fire during a search-and-strike operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district on Thursday, police said. A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police statement said law enforcers began the operation in the Charpara area at noon, where terrorists had set up a blockade on Wednesday night.

Source: Islamabad Post / DNA (KP Police statement)

Police named the dead as CTD DSP Imranuddin Khan; Latamber police station house officer Sub-Inspector Afzal Awan; Constable Kazim, the DSP's gunman; and Head Constable Amjad of the Bomb Disposal Unit. Police said two terrorists were also killed in the exchange of fire.

Raid on a militant commander's hideout

The operation was led by the deputy superintendents of Banda Daud Shah and the CTD, and included bomb-disposal personnel, a drone team, Rescue 15 personnel and the Rapid Response Force, the police statement said. The team raided the hideout of a militant commander, Qaiser Iqbal, in the Jala Charpara area near Bahadur Khel along the old Bannu Road — within the jurisdiction of Khurram Muhammadzai police station — and came under fire, according to the police account carried by Dawn, Geo News and The Express Tribune.

Source: KhabarWire (Dawn / Geo News / Express Tribune accounts)

Funeral prayers for the four officers were held later with full official honours, Dawn reported. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed, CTD Additional Inspector General Jawad Qamar, Kohat Regional Police Officer Shakir Hussain Dawar and Karak District Police Officer Niaz Muhammad were among the officers who attended, and the bodies were taken to the officers' native villages.

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack and said the sacrifices of the province's police would not be forgotten, according to The Express Tribune. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also paid tribute to the four men. Police said the area was cordoned off and a search operation continued after the gunbattle.

Source: The COW News

4police personnel killed, including the CTD DSP and a station house officer
2militants killed in the exchange of fire, police said
12 noonwhen the search-and-strike operation began on Thursday, police said

What is solid

  • Four named police personnel — CTD DSP Imranuddin Khan, SHO Afzal Awan, Constable Kazim and Head Constable Amjad — were killed in the Charpara operation, and police said two terrorists were killed (KP Police statement carried by Dawn, Geo News and The Express Tribune).
  • The operation began at noon on Thursday in Charpara, where police said terrorists had set up a blockade the previous night.

What is only claimed

  • A separate report claimed five militants were killed — that higher figure has not been confirmed by police, and none of the slain militants has been identified.