1 killed, 12 injured in attack on gas exploration company’s convoy in Dera Ismail Khan: rescue official

One person was killed while 12 others were injured when unidentified armed men attacked the camp office of a private oil and gas company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan on Monday.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi confirmed the casualties and injuries to Dawn.com. He said the incident took place in the Darazinda area.

Faizi said the wounded were moved to the District Headquarters Hospital of Dera Ismail Khan. Two of them are in critical condition.

After receiving the information about the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the area and started a search operation.

Last week, two police personnel were martyred and three others were wounded in a similar attack on Al-Haj Oil and Gas Private Drilling Company’s camp office. Three other policemen were also wounded in the incident.

Pakistan has seen a renewed wave of assaults targeting security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — particularly DI Khan — and Balochistan.

On Nov 3, a bomb blast near a police patrol killed five and left over 20 injured in Dera Ismail Khan city. Just two days later, militants targeted security personnel at a checkpoint in the district’s Tank area. That attack was repelled and at least 10 assailants were killed. The same evening, a checkpoint in the Roori area came under attack, injuring a constable.

On Nov 4, nine terrorists were neutralised by security forces after they infiltrated a Pakistan Air Force training base in Mianwali.

Meanwhile, in Gwadar, at least 14 Pakistan Army soldiers lost their lives on Nov 3 after militants ambushed two vehicles of security forces.

Last month, data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said the number of militant attacks in August was the highest tally for monthly strikes in almost nine years.

There were 99 attacks across the country, the highest number in a single month since November 2014, the report had said.