PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Three members of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary (FC), a federal paramilitary force, were killed on Monday in a terrorist attack in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.
The attack targeted an FC fort in the Dargah Shaheedan area of Bahadar Khel in Karak district, within the jurisdiction of Khurram Muhammad Zai Police Station.
Karak District Police Officer (DPO) Saud Khan said terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which officials refer to as “Fitna al-Khawarij”, carried out a quadcopter strike on the fort.
At least five FC personnel were injured in the initial drone attack, the DPO said.
Ambulance ambushed
DPO Khan said the wounded were being transported to the hospital when terrorists launched a second assault on the ambulances in the Badrakhail area.
“The injured personnel were being taken to the hospital when terrorists launched a second attack on the ambulances en route,” he said.
Three FC personnel were killed in the ambush, according to police. The attackers set the ambulances ablaze with the wounded inside, Khan added.
Two Rescue 1122 officials were also injured in the second attack. They were shifted to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital in Bannu for treatment.
Police said a search and clearance operation was launched after the attack and the area was subsequently secured. Investigations are underway.
Surge in terrorist attacks
The attack comes amid a surge in terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which borders Afghanistan.
Over the weekend, two Pakistani security personnel — Lieutenant Colonel Shahzada Gul Faraz and Sepoy Karamat Shah — were killed during a counter-terrorism operation in Bannu district.
A day later, two terrorists, including a detained commander, were killed when terrorists attacked a Counter Terrorism Department vehicle in an attempt to free their leader in Bannu.
Last week, 11 security personnel were killed in an attack involving an explosive-laden vehicle on a checkpost in Bajaur district.
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On February 18, two FC personnel were injured in an assault on a checkpost in the Salgazi area of Wazir subdivision.
In November last year, three FC personnel were killed in a suicide attack on the force’s headquarters in Peshawar’s Saddar area.
According to the Annual Security Report 2025 by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), fatalities in terror attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025 — an increase of 711 deaths.
The report said this accounted for more than 82 percent of the net national rise in terrorist violence and marked a nearly 44 percent year-on-year surge in the province.
Cross-border Terrorism
Pakistan has witnessed a rise in cross-border terror attacks since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to take action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory.
However, the Taliban regime failed to take any action against terror groups and prevent Afghan soil from being used against Pakistan.
On Sunday, Pakistan carried out intelligence-based precision airstrikes targeting seven terrorist camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to recent suicide attacks.
The strikes were conducted in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces and targeted facilities linked to the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan terror group and its affiliates, including Daesh-Khorasan.
Security sources said more than 80 terrorists were killed in the precision strikes.
