Terrorist attacks further fell by 18% in Dec 2019

Islamabad : Down by about 18 per cent from the previous month, 14 terrorist attacks were recorded in Pakistan during the last month of 2019. These attacks claimed 16 lives-compared to 27 in the month before-and injured 24 others, informs the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS).

The 16 people killed in terrorist attacks included 8 personnel of security and law enforcement agencies (4 FC men, 3 policemen, and one army soldier), 5 civilians, and three militants.

Over 78 percent of the total reported attacks in Pakistan in December concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where 11 reported attacks killed 16 people. Three attacks happened in Balochistan that did not cause any casualty.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other Pakistani Taliban groups perpetrated 12 attacks that claimed 16 lives and wounded 24 others. Baloch insurgent groups carried out 2 low intensity attacks, which caused no casualty.

In December, as many as 9 cross-border attacks from India killed five and wounded 7 others in Bhimber, Haveli, Hattian Bala, Kotli, Neelum, and Poonch districts of AJK. However, no such attack was reported from Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan and Iran for second month in a row.

Only one ant-militant operational strike was reported in December 2019 in which 2 suspected militants were killed in DI Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also, security and law enforcement officials entered into 3 armed encounters and clashes with militants, twice in parts of KP and once in Karachi. In all, 4 militants were killed in these incidents; 3 army soldiers were also martyred and another 3 were injured.

As in the month before, 29 incidents of violence of different types took place in Pakistan in December that claimed the lives of 32 people and injured 35 others.