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At least seven police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were martyred after terrorists attacked the Khazina Banda police checkpost in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while eight militants were killed in retaliatory fire, police officials said on Wednesday.
According to District Police Officer (DPO) Tariq Habib, 22 police personnel, including DSP Mujahid Hussain, were injured in the militants' attack.
He further said eight terrorists were killed while six others were injured in retaliatory fire.
The DPO added that a clearance operation against the terrorists was continuing in the area.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban returned to power.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to rein in terrorist groups. After Islamabad said Kabul had failed to fulfil its responsibility, it launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in February this year in response to cross-border militant attacks from Afghanistan.
The latest terror incident comes hours after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that security forces had eliminated 32 India-backed terrorists during operations conducted in KP and Balochistan over the previous 24 hours.
A report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) showed that KP and Balochistan were the epicentres of violence during the second quarter of 2026, with KP recording the highest number of fatalities.
Together, the two provinces accounted for almost 96% of all violence-linked fatalities, with more than 61% (475) recorded in KP and 34% (265) in Balochistan, according to the report.
KP recorded the highest number of violent incidents in the second quarter, with 151 cases (57%), followed by Balochistan with 94 incidents (35%), together accounting for the majority of reported violence.
