Pakistan rocked by militant assault on security camp, 3 killed, 17 wounded

At least three security officers and one militant were killed during an hours-long gunbattle on August 25 after armed assailants attacked a security forces camp in northwestern Pakistan, police reported.

The assault took place in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where 17 security personnel were also wounded, according to local police official Nazar Mohammad, Al Arabiya reports.

“Security forces quickly responded and launched a search operation in the nearby mountains to track down the attackers who fled,” he said.

The attack sparked immediate concern at the national level. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the slain officers in a statement and directed authorities to provide “the best possible medical treatment to the wounded.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Though separate from the Afghan Taliban, the TTP maintains close ties with them, and its fighters and leadership are believed to operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has experienced a notable uptick in militant activity in recent months, much of it targeting security forces and state infrastructure.

The latest violence in Hangu comes just weeks after Pakistan’s military launched what it described as a “targeted operation” against TTP fighters in another part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—Bajaur district. The offensive displaced nearly 100,000 residents, but authorities have so far not released any details about the scale or outcomes of the operation.

It is not the first time Pakistan has taken military action against the TTP in Bajaur; a similar campaign was carried out in 2009, underscoring the persistent nature of the threat in the region.

By Vafa Guliyeva