According to War Monitor, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a video on Wednesday that it says shows a quadcopter attack on Hameed Police Station in Frontier Region (FR) Peshawar. When and where the footage was filmed, and whether the strike caused any casualties or damage, has not been independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from police or the government.
Small drones, a growing problem
Reports of small drones and quadcopters being used against police facilities have become more frequent in recent weeks. A special security analysis War Monitor published the same day recalls drone attacks on October 3 on the Jhangi and Lakhani police posts in Dera Ghazi Khan district, near the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boundary. District Police Officer Sadiq Baloch said at the time that explosives were dropped and one officer was slightly hurt, and police blamed TTP-linked militants.
The analysis argues that commercially available drones in the hands of armed groups pose a new test for conventional policing, calling for upgraded protection at police stations and checkposts and closer coordination between agencies. It also cautions that the scale of the threat should be judged on independently documented incidents rather than isolated claims.
What the numbers show
Citing the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), War Monitor says 34 militant attacks were recorded nationwide between October 9 and 15, down from 46 the previous week, a fall of about 26%. PICSS data for the 30 days from September 22 to October 21 lists 228 security-related incidents, 343 deaths, 120 injuries and 109 people affected by abductions, figures that cover security operations as well as militant attacks.
The report warns that a one-week dip does not mean a lasting improvement, as new tactics and new theatres are emerging alongside it, notably TTP activity in Balochistan and continuing Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions.