86 civilians, 23 policemen lost lives during terror attacks in October

Civilians and policemen remained major victim of terrorism across Pakistan last month, said monthly security report of Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) released on Friday. The report said five militants were also killed and as many injured in the exchange of fire with army men. Civilians had major share in casualties as 86 of them lost their lives while 246 were injured, the report said, adding 23 policemen died and 36 were injured in terror attacks. The report said 21 military and paramilitary troops also fell in the line of duty in October. As many as 85 attacks were carried out by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), local Taliban and other militant groups of same category that killed 79 and injured another 180 people. The nationalist insurgent groups in Balochistan perpetrated 31 attacks claiming 47 lives and inflicting injuries on 145 others. Meanwhile six sectarian-related attacks claimed the lives of nine people and injured another person. Security forces and law enforcement agencies were main target of the militants in 20 districts of Pakistan, mainly in KP, Fata, Balochistan and Karachi. The militants carried out 53 terrorist attacks on security forces their convoys and check-posts. The report further says that a total of 122 terrorist attacks were carried out across Pakistan in October, 13 less than previous month, claiming the lives of 135 people, representing a decrease of 50 per cent compared to previous month, besides inflicting injuries on 326 others. Despite an overall decrease, the number of reported attacks from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) increased in October by about 13 per cent, as compared to previous month. As many as 43 attacks were reported from KP which claimed the lives of 40 people and injured 103 others. In terms of casualties, Balochistan was worst-hit among all regions of Pakistan where 49 people lost their lives and 145 others sustained injuries in 32 reported attacks while 26 terrorist attacks occurred in Sindh, including 24 in Karachi, and 19 in Fata. Security forces, either independently or in collaboration with bomb disposal squad, also foiled at least 16 terror bids in October, including 11 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three in Sindh and one in Islamabad, PIPS said.