A police constable was martyred after an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a police vehicle during a search operation in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, officials said.
According to Karak District Police Officer (DPO) spokesperson Shaukat Khan, the blast occurred in the Ghol Dam area while personnel from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and police were carrying out a search and strike operation.
He said militants had planted the IED along the roadside, which exploded as a police patrol passed the area. The blast damaged the police van and killed a constable at the scene.
Following the explosion, DPO Imran Khan reached the area along with additional police personnel. The body of the martyred constable and injured officers were recovered from the vehicle and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, the spokesperson said.
The DPO later visited the hospital and enquired about the condition of the injured personnel.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a significant increase in militant violence over the past year.
According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) Annual Security Report 2025, fatalities linked to violence in KP increased from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025 — an increase of 711 deaths. The report said the province accounted for more than 82 per cent of the overall increase in national fatalities and recorded an almost 44 per cent year-on-year rise in violence.
In June, at least eight police officers were injured when militants ambushed a police team in the Darga Saheedan area, which falls within the jurisdiction of Khurrum Police Station in Karak.
Earlier in February, three Federal Constabulary personnel were martyred in a militant attack in Karak district.
