12 killed, dozen injured in militant attack in Pakistan

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Peshawar, June 26(ANI): At least 12 policemen, including the Station House Officer Alawal Khan were killed and dozen sustained injuries when security forces mounted an operation to rescue hostages taken by a group of militants who attacked a Kolachi tehsil police station in Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.

At about 5:30 p.m., five to six militants, some of them wearing burqas, entered the police station in Kolachi tehsil and took control of it after firing indiscriminately and hurling grenades at guards, The Nation reports.

Wearing suicide vests, the militants took hostage about 20 policemen inside the building. Three attackers positioned themselves at strategic points in the police station.

About 100 police force and other law enforcement agencies’ personnel surrounded the police station and exchanged fire with militants to rescue policemen and free the building from the militants. Police also cordoned off the entire area to prevent militants escaping from the building.

Twelve policemen received bullet injuries during exchange of fire and were rushed to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan.

Three blasts were also heard inside Kolachi Police Station during exchange of firing, as a result of which fire broke out in the building, which gutted records, weapons and Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC).

Eyewitnesses said they heard three explosions when suicide bombers blew themselves up at the police station.

Three attackers were killed by police while the other two blew themselves up. The three attackers killed include one woman and two of them were of foreign nationality, the Xinhua reports.

Five-hour operation was held under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General and Divisional Police Officer DI Khan.

No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack yet. (ANI)