IED event in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mali Khel, Bannu District area, Pakistan on Tue 19th November 2024

Twelve Security Forces (SFs) personnel and six terrorists were killed after a checkpost was targeted in Mali Khel area of Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on November 19, reports Dawn. More than 10 other personnel sustained injuries. A suicide bomber rammed an explosive laden vehicle into the Mali Khel checkpost, followed by a firing raid of terrorists. In a press release, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that on November 19 (Tuesday), “khwarij attempted to attack a Joint Check Post in general area Mali Khel in Bannu District”. The attack was effectively thwarted, the ISPR said, but a suicide blast led to the collapse of the check post’s perimeter wall and adjoining infrastructure, resulting in the martyrdom of 10 soldiers and two Frontier Constabulary personnel. “In ensuing fire exchange, six khwarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR said. Jabha Ansar al-Mahdi, a sub-group of Hafiz Gul Bahadur's faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier, South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) quoting media sources reported that 10 SFs personnel were killed while more than 10 other personnel sustained injuries.