Police constable martyred in IED attack on police van in KP's Karak

LAKKI MARWAT: A police constable was martyred and six officials were injured on Monday when an improvised explosive device (IED) was used to attack a police patrol van in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district.

Karak District Police Officer’s (DPO) spokesperson Shaukat Khan said that the explosion occurred when officials from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and police were conducting a search and strike operation in the Ghol Dam area.

Khan said terrorists had planted an IED along the roadside, which detonated when the police patrol party was passing by. He said that the blast damaged the police van.

A constable was martyred on the spot, the DPO’s spokesperson said.

“After the explosion, DPO Imran Khan, along with additional forces, reached the venue and evacuated the body and injured personnel from the van,” he said, adding that the body and wounded cops were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital.

Later, DPO Imran visited the hospital and inquired after the injured personnel.

KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.

This marked an “absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82 per cent of the net national rise and marking almost a 44pc year-on-year surge in violence in the province”.

In June, at least eight police officers were injured when a group of terrorists ambushed a police team in the Darga Saheedan area within the jurisdiction of Khurrum Police Station in Karak district.

In February, three Federal Constabulary officers were martyred in a terrorist attack in Karak district.