Daraban police station attack

Last updated

Daraban police station attack
Part of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Location Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates 31°43′58″N70°19′54″E / 31.73278°N 70.33167°E / 31.73278; 70.33167
Date12 December 2023
Target Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police; Pakistan Army
Attack type
 Vehicle-ramming, suicide bombing, mass shooting
Weapons Car bomb, guns
Deaths24 (including a perpetrator)
Injured34
Perpetrators Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan

On 12 December 2023, the Deobandi jihadist insurgent group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan attacked a police station in Daraban, Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, killing at least 23 people.

Contents

Background

The insurgency in northwestern Pakistan began in 2004. Since the Pakistani Taliban's formation in 2007 it is led by them. After the insurgency's intensity peaked in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it slowed to a low-intensity conflict in 2017. It escalated during the early 2020s. [1] During early 2023, Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan was founded and joined the insurgency. Pakistan says that it is merely another name for the Pakistani Taliban and that high proportion of terrorist attacks in Pakistan are carried out by Afghans. [1] Pakistan's government accuses the Pakistani Taliban's Afghan ally, the Taliban, who govern Afghanistan, of allowing the Pakistani Taliban to use Afghanistan as a base to carry out attacks in Pakistan. [1] In response to the large number of attacks by Afghans – including the 2022 Peshawar mosque attack by Islamic State – Khorasan Province – the Pakistani government are deporting large numbers of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are Afghans. [2]

Attack

On 12 December 2023, Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan insurgents carried out an attack on a police station in Daraban, Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. [3] The vehicle-ramming, suicide bombing and mass shooting attack killed at least 23 people and wounded 34 others. [4] The Pakistan Army had been using the police station as a base camp. [5]

Perpetrators

Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. Its spokesman Mohammed Qasim stated, "Our suicide bombers attacked a military compound at 2:30 a.m. and started killing soldiers one by one. An army camp is set up in a school. More than 20 soldiers were killed in the attack". [6] The government of Pakistan says that Tehreek-e-Jihad is a part of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and that "Tehreek-e-Jihad" is simply another name for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. [7]

Response

The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing for the Pakistan Armed Forces, has stated that the Pakistan Army killed 27 militants in response, and has stated that all 6 militants involved in the attack were killed. [8] In a statement, the prime minister of Pakistan Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said, "The whole nation pays homage to the sacrifices of the martyrs in the fight against terrorism, such coward attacks could not demoralize our forces." [8]

Accusations of Afghan involvement

Pakistan has repeatedly said that militant attacks against Pakistan are being conducted by Afghans. [2] Afghanistan says that is not the case. [9] On 12 December, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a representative for the government of Afghanistan in relation to this. It asked the Afghan government to "fully investigate and take stern action against perpetrators" and to "publicly condemn the terrorist incident at the highest level." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span> Armed conflict involving Pakistan and armed militant groups

The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), TNSM, al-Qaeda, and their Central Asian allies such as the ISIL–Khorasan (ISIL), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Movement, Emirate of Caucasus, and elements of organized crime. Formerly a war, it is now a low-level insurgency as of 2017.

Events from the year 2008 in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization operating along the Durand Line

The Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.

In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring other 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.

This is a list of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the calendar year 2011.

In 2008, Pakistan saw 40 terrorist attacks, which caused 154 fatalities and 256 injuries.

In 2009, Pakistan suffered 50 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian-related incidents that killed 180 people and injured 300.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

Events in the year 2014 in Pakistan.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

On 25 June 2011, 12 militants of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked a police station in Kulachi, Dera Ismail Khan. In response police defended building and a conflict started between police and terrorists which lasted for five hours. 10 policemen were killed while three were injured. Five terrorists were killed and others managed to escape. The spokesman of TTP Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility and said that the attack was carried in retaliation against Osama's killing and government's attacks against terrorists.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:

The events listed below are both anticipated and scheduled for the year 2023 in Pakistan.

This article is an incomplete outline of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2023 in chronological order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan</span> Pakistani Islamist insurgent group

Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan is an insurgent Deobandi jihadist group in Pakistan that has gained notoriety for its involvement in attacks on Pakistani military and police targets. The group is believed to have been founded in February 2023 and has claimed violent attacks against Pakistani police, security, and military installations in various provinces of Pakistan.

The events listed below are both anticipated and scheduled for the year 2024 in Pakistan.

On 15 December 2023, militant attacks were launched against the Pakistan Army and local police in Tank, Pakistan. Ansar ul-Islam claimed responsibility for the attack. The attacks occurred at a police station in Tank District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–Pakistan clashes (2024–present)</span> Series of armed skirmishes between Afghanistan and Pakistan

The 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan clashes are a series of ongoing armed clashes consisting of cross-border airstrikes and exchanges of gunfire between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conflict also separately includes the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Pakistani Taliban. The skirmishes took place over many locations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, including North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Wana, Dera Ismail Khan, Shangla, Khost, and Paktika. Subsequent attacks were also launched in Turbat and Gwadar in Balochistan province, by the Balochistan Liberation Army. Militant attacks on CPEC and Pakistani military bases accommodating US aircraft pose a threat to Chinese and American interests in Pakistan. After de-escalation in March 2024, the conflict resurged in December 2024 with Pakistani airstrikes against Afghanistan, specifically in Paktika Province.

Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is a counter-insurgency operation launched by the government of Pakistan in June 2024. The operation was approved by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. The operation will include not only military action, but also socio-economic uplift to deter extremism.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Surge in terrorism kills more than 700 Pakistanis". 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Thousands of Afghans leave Pakistan ahead of deportation deadline". November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Dozens killed in Islamist militant attack on northwest Pakistan army base". France 24. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "At least 23 killed as fighters storm police station in northwest Pakistan". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Ali, Saud Mehsud Mushtaq (12 December 2023). "Pakistan army says Islamist militant attack kills 23 soldiers". Reuters. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Khan, Haq Nawaz (12 December 2023). "Pakistani suicide bomber attack on army outpost kills 23 soldiers". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Report, Bureau (10 August 2023). "KP CTD denies existence of Tehreek-i-Jihad, claims it is another name for TTP". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. 1 2 "Pakistan: Militant Attack Kills 23 Troops". Voice of America. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Dawn.com (13 April 2023). "Khawaja Asif warns of striking terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "23 troops dead, dozens wounded after suicide bomber attacks police station in Pakistan". www.cbsnews.com. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.