Latest news with #Bannu
LBCI
21-07-2025
- LBCI
Pakistani Islamist militants use drones to target security forces, officials say
Islamist militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Reuters
Arab News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani militants use drones to target security forces, officials say
PESHAWAR: Militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Regional police chief Sajjad Khan said militants were still trying to master the use of the drones. 'The militants have acquired these modern tools, but they are in the process of experimentation and that's why they can't hit their targets accurately,' he added. The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge. 'We do not have equipment to counter the drones,' he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. 'The militants are better equipped than we are,' he said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes. The main militant group operating in the northwest is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But they denied using the drones. 'We are trying to acquire this technology,' a TTP spokesman told Reuters. In 2024, militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organization. In recent weeks, thousands of residents from the border region have staged protests, aimed against both the attacks by militants and what they fear is an offensive planned by the army, according to a statement issued by the demonstrators. They said they feared that a military operation against the militants would displace them from their homes. A sweeping operation against militants in 2014 was preceded by a forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. They spent months, and in many cases years, away from their homes. Pakistan's army did not respond to a request for comment on whether an operation was planned.
Arab News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani Islamist militants use drones to target security forces, officials say
ISLAMABAD: Islamist militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Regional police chief Sajjad Khan said militants were still trying to master the use of the drones. 'The militants have acquired these modern tools, but they are in the process of experimentation and that's why they can't hit their targets accurately,' he added. The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge. 'We do not have equipment to counter the drones,' he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. 'The militants are better equipped than we are,' he said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes. The main militant group operating in the northwest is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But they denied using the drones. 'We are trying to acquire this technology,' a TTP spokesman told Reuters. In 2024, Islamist militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organization. In recent weeks, thousands of residents from the border region have staged protests, aimed against both the attacks by militants and what they fear is an offensive planned by the army, according to a statement issued by the demonstrators. They said they feared that a military operation against the militants would displace them from their homes. A sweeping operation against militants in 2014 was preceded by a forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. They spent months, and in many cases years, away from their homes. Pakistan's army did not respond to a request for comment on whether an operation was planned.
Khaleej Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Pakistani militants use drones to drop bombs on security forces, officials say
Militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Regional police chief Sajjad Khan said militants were still trying to master the use of the drones. "The militants have acquired these modern tools, but they are in the process of experimentation and that's why they can't hit their targets accurately," he added. The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge. "We do not have equipment to counter the drones," he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. "The militants are better equipped than we are," he said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes. The main militant group operating in the northwest is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But they denied using the drones. "We are trying to acquire this technology," a TTP spokesman told Reuters. In 2024, Islamist militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organisation. In recent weeks, thousands of residents from the border region have staged protests, aimed against both the attacks by militants and what they fear is an offensive planned by the army, according to a statement issued by the demonstrators. They said they feared that a military operation against the militants would displace them from their homes. A sweeping operation against militants in 2014 was preceded by a forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. They spent months, and in many cases years, away from their homes. Pakistan's army did not respond to a request for comment on whether an operation was planned.
Arab News
09-07-2025
- Arab News
Police say militants behind quadcopter attacks in northwest Pakistan that killed one, injured three
PESHAWAR: One woman was killed while three others were injured in two quadcopter attacks in northwestern Pakistan this week, a police official said on Wednesday, blaming militants for carrying out the assault. The first attack took place on Tuesday night in the northwestern tribal Bannu district's Srah Bangla area, District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi said. The quadcopter strike killed a woman and left three injured, including two children, he added. The second attack targeted the Miryan Police Station in the same district at 6:45 am on Wednesday, he said. The police officer added that an explosive-laden quadcopter deployed by the 'Khawarij' had struck the facility. Khawarij is a commonly used term by Pakistani authorities to describe extremist factions like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 'These attacks are being carried out by militants who have acquired and deployed quadcopters in carrying out attacks,' Amir Khan, a media officer for the regional police officer in Bannu, told Arab News. He did not provide further details. Kulachi, however, said an investigation is underway to identify those responsible for the Miryan Police Station attack. The TTP, which has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistan's armed forces and civilians since 2007, has not claimed responsibility for the attack so far. On May 19, a suspected drone strike reportedly led to the deaths of four children in Hurmuz village of the northwestern Mir Ali tehsil and injuries to five others, including a woman. Pakistan's military denied responsibility for the attack days later, attributing the incident to a proscribed militant network which it said was operating on 'the behest of their Indian masters.' 'Initial findings have established that this heinous act has been orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored Fitna Al Khawarij,' the military's media wing said in a statement. Later in May, police said at least 22 people were wounded in another suspected quadcopter attack near a volleyball ground in Pakistan's South Waziristan district. The police spokesperson had said the origins and operators of the drone remained 'undetermined. Islamabad has repeatedly blamed Afghanistan-based militant groups for launching attacks inside Pakistan, a claim that Kabul denies. Pakistan also blames India for backing militant groups in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. India denies the allegations.
