Police in Dera Ismail Khan foiled a terrorist attack on Band Korai Police Station late on Wednesday night, after attackers rammed an explosives-laden pickup truck into the station's main gate and opened fire with heavy weapons.

According to a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police spokesperson, the blast damaged the station's boundary wall and a nearby mosque. Police personnel on duty returned fire immediately and mounted an organised counter-response, forcing the attackers to retreat before they could enter the premises.

No casualties were reported in the incident, and all personnel deployed at the police station remained safe. The District Police Officer of Dera Ismail Khan reached the site shortly after receiving information about the attack and reviewed the security arrangements and the overall situation.

How the attack unfolded

The assault took place late at night at the Band Korai station in the Paharpur area of Dera Ismail Khan. The attackers first drove the explosive-laden vehicle into the main gate, triggering a powerful explosion, and then attacked with heavy weapons in an apparent attempt to breach the station.

Police said the attack was repelled because of the alertness of the personnel on duty, prior security arrangements and a timely response. Officers held their positions through the blast and the gunfire, and the attackers fled the scene after the retaliatory fire. Efforts were under way to trace and arrest those responsible, and further investigation into the incident was in progress.

SP Paharpur confirmed that police had successfully foiled the attack through timely and effective action. One report identified the attackers as members of Fitna al-Khawarij, the name the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and said several surrounding houses were also damaged in the blast, in addition to the station wall and the mosque. No group had publicly claimed responsibility for the Band Korai attack at the time of reporting.

Part of a wider security operation

The foiled attack came on the same day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police reported a separate operation in the Bara Shaikhan area of Khyber district, in which a wanted militant commander identified as Saifullah was killed. Police described him as a senior commander of Fitna al-Khawarij, the name the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The two incidents underline the pressure on police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a day after ten police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were killed in a militant ambush in Kohat district. Police in the province have faced a sustained campaign of attacks on stations, checkposts and patrols in recent months.

Sources: Khyber Chronicles, 99News, Newsora24