Pakistan: Elite Force personnel shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islamabad, March 19 (IANS) An assistant sub-inspector of the Elite Force was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Mano Banda area of Gandigar in Upper Dir district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported on Thursday, citing police.

Bacha Yousaf Khan was targetted by assailants outside his residence. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. According to police sources, Khan was heading to mosque to offer prayers when he was targeted, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.

After the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the site, cordoned off the area and started a search operation to find the attackers. The Gandigar police lodged a case against unknown assailants and began a probe. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last week, at least six police personnel were killed and one injured in a blast near a police vehicle in the Bettani tribal of Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to a spokesperson of the local police, the explosion took place near a police mobile, causing death of six police personnel and injuries to one policeman, Pakistan's leading media outlet Geo News reported.

On March 8, a senior officer of the Counter Terrorism Depar­tment (CTD) was killed after unidentified assailants opened fire at him in the Killi Ismail area of Pakistan's Quetta, local media reported.

Police said Inspector Metha Khan, who recently joined CTD, was shot by armed men when he was passing through the Killi Ismail area on March 8, Dawn reported. A senior police that the CTD officer died on the spot after the armed men on motorcycles opened fire at him. The official further said that the gunmen escaped from the spot following the incident.

Meanwhile, a report released by an Islamabad-based think tank revealed that combat-related deaths in Pakistan increased by 30 per cent in February, caused due to a rise in suicide attacks across the country.

A report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) revealed that 470 deaths and 333 injuries were documented in February. The victims include 96 civilians, 80 security forces personnel and 294 militants. The number of injured included 259 civilians, 50 security forces personnel and 24 militants, Dawn reported.

The figure showcase a 74 per cent rise in the deaths of security forces personnel, a 32 per cent increase in civilian deaths and 21 per cent surge in militant deaths in comparison to January.

As many as 53 security forces personnel and six civilians were killed while 35 security personnel and 48 civilians were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in February. Three suicide bombing incidents took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which claimed 17 lives, including that of 14 security forces personnel and injured 20 people.

As many as 34 people were killed and 165 others were injured in a suicide bombing incident in Islamabad. Furthermore, two police personnel were killed and four others were injured in a suicide bombing in the Bhakkar district of Punjab province, Dawn reported. The eight suicide attacks reported in January and February in this year are nearly half the total for all of 2025, when 17 such incidents were reported.

According to the data released by PICSS, the first two months of 2026 witnessed 831 combat-related deaths, including 536 militants, 169 civilians and 126 security forces personnel.

--IANS

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