A senior district official and three others were killed on Tuesday when militants ambushed an official convoy in Pakistan’s northwest, police told Anadolu Agency.
The attack targeted the vehicle of Shah Wali Khan, Assistant Commissioner of North Waziristan, as it traveled through the Mamandkhel area on the Bannu–Miranshah Road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan, two police officers assigned to protect him, and a civilian died instantly.
The attackers torched the vehicle before escaping, prompting police to seal off the area and launch a search operation.
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in militant violence across Pakistan’s northwest and southwest. On Monday, a suicide bomber killed a policeman and injured six in Lakki Marwat. A day earlier, security forces said they intercepted suicide attackers in Balochistan’s Noukandi and Mastung districts, killing several militants.
According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, civilian casualties from militant attacks have surged by 80% this year, even as security-force fatalities have fallen. The think tank recorded 292 deaths and 164 injuries from anti-state violence in November alone.
North Waziristan’s ambush reflects a broader escalation attributed to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP], which has intensified operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. By August, the province had logged more than 600 attacks in 2025, most concentrated in the Bannu Division.
Security forces have responded with large-scale intelligence-based operations, killing dozens of militants in recent months. Authorities warn that insurgent groups continue to use the difficult border terrain with Afghanistan to stage ambushes, bombings and targeted attacks on security personnel and government officials.
Source: Al-Ahed English News
