Islamabad, Pakistan: An Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) was initiated to clear a hideout of Terrorists, linked with firing incidents on Security Forces and civilians besides planting Improvised Explosive Devices on M-8, in the general area of Talsar, Hoshab.
As a result of continuous intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) of the area, the location of the terrorists was identified and security forces were held inserted. While the establishment of blocking positions to cut the escape routes was underway, 4 terrorists opened fire on the Security Forces.
During the ensuing heavy exchange of fire, all four Terrorists have been killed, while a cache of arms and ammunition including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) has been recovered.
The latest report of the Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) reminds us that proxy terror returned to Pakistan in a big way in 2022 with December being the deadliest month for Pakistan’s security personnel in over a decade. This was mainly due to the emergence of a new terror triad comprising the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Daesh-Afghnaistan. These three outfits proved to be the biggest threat to the country last year as the total number of attacks and counterattacks crossed the 500 mark across the country.
Related Story: Terror trends in Pakistan during 2022
Of these, 310 attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its newly merged districts that were formerly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
That means over 62 percent of attacks targeted KP alone. Balochistan with 110 attacks became the country’s second most vulnerable province, whereas Sindh had to experience 54 attacks and counter-attacks in 2022. With a total of 506 attacks, on average Pakistan witnessed 42 attacks every month of the year. This shows no day went by without a terrorist attack or counter-attack somewhere; on some days there was more than one attack in the country. In terms of casualties, Pakistan faced over 1700, with 975 people losing their lives in attacks and the remaining were serious injuries.KP (including the former Fata) again leads the list with over 1,000 casualties, out of which 625 were fatalities and the remaining serious injuries. In Balochistan, over 250 people lost their lives in terrorist attacks and counter-attacks, whereas over 200 sustained serious injuries. In Sindh, 66 people were killed and 58 sustained injuries by the end of 2022. In Punjab, 28 people were killed and 27 injured in terrorist attacks and counter-attacks. The security forces lost 285 personnel, with 42 fatalities only in December. The modes of attacks included improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used in ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions.
