Pakistan security forces kill militant after peace committee member killed in Tank attack

A peace committee member was killed and two others were wounded in a militant attack in Pakistan's northwestern Tank district, police said. Security forces later killed the attacker in a gunbattle in a nearby market.

Police believe peace committee members were the intended targets.

What happened in the Tank peace committee attack?

The attacker targeted peace committee members in Tank, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, before fleeing, Station House Officer Sami Khan told Nukta.

One victim, identified as Adnan, later died in hospital, while another committee member and a civilian were wounded. The attacker then took refuge in an ammunition shop in Mehsud Market and opened fire.

How did security forces kill the attacker?

Security forces arrived at the scene, sealed off the area and launched an operation to apprehend him. After several hours of exchanges of fire, security forces killed the militant, Khan said.

Adnan was critically wounded in the attack and died at a hospital, according to Khan. Another peace committee member and a civilian were also wounded and taken to hospital.

Police believe the peace committee members were the intended targets and have launched a search operation to identify and track down any accomplices, Khan said. An investigation into the motive and circumstances of the attack was also under way.

What other attacks have taken place in Tank and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

The attack comes days after a suspected suicide bombing and the killing of three traffic police officers by unidentified gunmen in Tank. In a separate attack in neighboring Dera Ismail Khan district, a suicide bomber struck the Aman Mela checkpoint used by police and other law enforcement agencies, killing 13 people and injuring 33, according to authorities.

Tank and other districts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have faced repeated militant attacks in recent years, with police, security forces, peace committee members and other state personnel frequently targeted. The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied militant groups are among those blamed for violence in the region.