Six security men martyred in Hangu gas field attack

HANGU: At least four Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel and two private security guards were martyred when a gas plant in Tall Tehsil of Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, came under terrorist attack.

Tall Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Irfan Khan told Geo News that heavily armed militants struck the private gas extraction plant in the mountainous region.

However, he told a foreign news agency that heavy weapons including rocket-propelled grenades were used in the attack, he said. “The security guards at M-8 repulsed the terrorists’ attack but the casualties took place at M-10," Khan added.

The cop further stated that the militants have also damaged a solar power plant at the affected plant before fleeing to the adjoining North Waziristan area, where they had come from. He said that a joint search operation was underway in the area.

Khan said the security personnel fought bravely for two hours and repulsed the attack.

A large number of police are standing guard at the gas plant after the terror attack.

As per a foreign news agency's report, up to 50 militants attacked the plant in the Hangu district near the Afghan border. However, no group has claimed responsibility so far.

Meanwhile, the company also did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Various militant factions, including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have operated out of remote mountains in the northwest for years, launching attacks on the security forces and infrastructure in their campaign against the state.