Three people were killed and eight others wounded when a suspected drone struck a residential house in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Bajaur district, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Saeedur Rahman confirmed to The Express Tribune on Thursday.
According to Rahman, the incident took place at Pakistan Chowk in the Shinkot area of Mamund tehsil, where the house of Syed Wali Jan, son of Ajab Khan, was hit by a suspected drone.
“Women and children were among the eight people wounded in the blast, while local sources identified the dead as 15-year-old Ishaq, son of Mirzaman; 30-year-old Imtiaz, son of Bakhtiar; and five-year-old Muneeba, daughter of Bakhtiar. The injured have been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar, where they are receiving medical treatment,” he added.
Read More: Two schoolchildren killed in drone strike in K-P’s Bajaur: police
Rahman said an investigation had been launched, but it was not yet clear where the suspected drone had come from or who was behind the attack.
“Police and relevant agencies have begun collecting evidence from the site and are examining the incident from different angles. Final details about the nature of the blast and those responsible will be shared after the investigation is completed,” he added.
In May, two schoolchildren were killed in a drone strike in the Shah Tangi area of Mamund tehsil in Bajaur district. The origin of the quadcopter and those responsible for the attack had remained unknown. In the same month, three people had also been injured in another drone attack on a cricket ground.
K-P remains a key focus of the country’s counterterrorism efforts, with security forces regularly conducting IBOs against terrorists. The province witnessed a significant rise in militant violence last year, with more than 500 attacks reported, marking a 50% increase compared to the previous year.
According to a security assessment obtained by The Express Tribune, K-P recorded 1,588 terrorism-related incidents, underscoring the growing militant threat across both settled and tribal districts. Despite the increase in attacks, security forces reportedly thwarted 320 major strikes, while 137 police personnel were killed in the line of duty.
Read More: Bannu’s misery
The report said joint operations by the K-P Police, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other security agencies led to the arrest of 1,244 suspected militants, while 420 militants were killed in intelligence-based operations.
Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Peshawar were among the districts most affected by militant violence, with the report noting a pattern of attacks allegedly planned and launched from across the Afghan border.
The CTD report also recorded a 56% increase in attacks targeting police personnel, rising from 327 in 2024 to 510 in 2025. During the year, security agencies conducted 2,791 search operations and identified 25 foreign militant operatives, while extortion networks operating in Peshawar and other districts were dismantled, according to the report.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneOur CorrespondentRead More