{"id":46770,"date":"2025-09-25T11:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/?p=46770"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:33:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T06:33:53","slug":"alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Shahzad Masood Roomi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once known for guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a.k.a. Fitna-Al-Khawarij (FAK), has now embraced the modern tactic of using commercially available quadcopters, equipped with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A series of such attacks have been reported in KP\u2019s southern districts, particularly in Bannu and adjacent merged areas. So far, at least eight such incidents have been confirmed during the past few months, including an attack on a police station in Bannu that resulted in the death of a woman and injuries to three children. Despite inaccuracies in many of these strikes, these incidents represent a dangerous scenario posing escalation, given the lack of necessary detection and countering drone capabilities of the local police force, such as anti\u2011drone sensors or jammers. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed\u2019s admission that \u201cthe militants are better equipped than we are\u201d underscores the widening technological disparity between police and the terrorists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 19, 2025, a drone strike in Hurmuz village of Tehsil Mir Ali in North Waziristan, carried out by TTP, resulted in the killing of four children and provoked protests and sit-in demonstrations demanding accountability and an independent investigation. This is yet another ugly facet of FAK\u2019s strategy. Kill innocents, blame the Pakistan Army and get more recruitments after displaying sympathy to the affected families. Security forces officially denied any involvement in the Hurmuz incidents and clarified that it was an act of terrorism by the FAK, yet some locals demanded clarity and justice amid escalating anger. In a separate incident in March 2025, a FAK drone strike in Katlang Tehsil of Mardan district killed nine members of a sheepherder family. The incident triggered provincial government enquiries and compensation pledges, despite security forces\u2019 clarification that no drones were used by them. The announcement of compensation was exploited by FAK recruiters. This incident showcases the added complexities that FAK&#8217;s evolving drone tactics have introduced into ongoing counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations. It underscores the urgent need for new civil-military coordination mechanisms to effectively respond to these emerging threats.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Groups like the Hafiz Gul Bahadur\u2019s and Lashkar-e-Islam are believed to have been testing DJI quadcopters equipped with 400\u2013700g Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) since early 2024. Analysts note that this new drone-based approach represents not only tactical adaptation but also cross-conflict learning mirroring developments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and among Afghan Taliban and ISIL affiliates. Such weapons provide the ability to strike from above without direct engagement, creating a force multiplier for non\u2011state groups.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-46771\" src=\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"436\" height=\"234\" \/ style=\"border: 5px solid #007bff; border-radius: 20px; padding: 10px; display: inline-block;\">Drones are not only used for direct attacks, but they also enable FAK to get real-time tracking of security forces\u2019 movements. Now, it is an alarming fact that in KP, nearly 98% of FAK attacks in early 2025 were concentrated in KP\u2019s tribal and southern districts, where drone activities were reported constantly. This aerial capability dramatically complicates counterterrorism strategies. In February and March 2025 alone, TTP carried out 147 attacks across the country, resulting in the deaths of 85 civilians and security personnel, with police among the most targeted groups.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same period witnessed the deadliest monthly toll of militant strikes since 2014, with 228 fatalities recorded in March alone, including 73 security personnel. These grim statistics underscore how the emergence of airborne threats further strained the already overburdened police and frontier forces. The acquisition of drone capability by FAK poses grave strategic, operational and psychological challenges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Strategic Surprise<\/strong>:\u00a0Drones enable FAK to bypass perimeter defences and hit some important installations or convoys carrying VIPs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Psychological Warfare<\/strong>:\u00a0Unseen but lethal drones can create chronic fear, forcing fatigue among police and civilians alike, eroding morale and public confidence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Civilian Endangerment<\/strong>:\u00a0As has been discussed earlier, FAK is using drones against KP civilians to get fresh recruits and local support against security forces.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Operational Fragmentation<\/em><\/strong><em>:<\/em>\u00a0Security coordination becomes more complex when aerial threats intersect with military drone campaigns and joint counterinsurgency operations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Countering this threat requires immediate multi-pronged measures. First, police outposts in vulnerable districts must be equipped with drone detection systems, jammers, or interception tools, and officers trained as drone spotters. Second, counter\u2011drone protocols and real\u2011time intelligence sharing must be established between civilian police and military air assets to ensure unified airspace control. Third, regulatory frameworks must restrict legal drone acquisition or flight in high-risk areas, with enforcement against unauthorized operators. Additionally, public awareness campaigns should educate civilians about drone warning signs, safe evacuation, and prompt reporting. Finally, intelligence cooperation with Afghan authorities and international partners is vital to trace supply lines of drone hardware and explosives, and disrupt training networks supporting militant drone deployment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shahzad Masood Roomi Once known for guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a.k.a. Fitna-Al-Khawarij (FAK), has now embraced the modern tactic of using commercially available quadcopters, equipped with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A series of such attacks have been reported in KP\u2019s southern districts, particularly in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":46772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[324,699,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-magazine-20th-edition","category-opinions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shahzad Masood Roomi Once known for guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a.k.a. Fitna-Al-Khawarij (FAK), has now embraced the modern tactic of using commercially available quadcopters, equipped with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A series of such attacks have been reported in KP\u2019s southern districts, particularly in [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Voice of KP English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T06:49:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-07T06:33:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"645\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"282\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shahzad Masood Rumi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shahzad Masood Rumi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/\",\"name\":\"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-25T06:49:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-07T06:33:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5180c4339e4a0658a9aa49dff7e471d6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png\",\"width\":645,\"height\":282,\"caption\":\"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Voice of KP English\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5180c4339e4a0658a9aa49dff7e471d6\",\"name\":\"Shahzad Masood Rumi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/358795298_1439401733609132_7184900124463188461_n-135x135.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/358795298_1439401733609132_7184900124463188461_n-135x135.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Shahzad Masood Rumi\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/author\/shahzad-masood-rumi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English","og_description":"Shahzad Masood Roomi Once known for guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a.k.a. Fitna-Al-Khawarij (FAK), has now embraced the modern tactic of using commercially available quadcopters, equipped with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A series of such attacks have been reported in KP\u2019s southern districts, particularly in [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/","og_site_name":"Voice of KP English","article_published_time":"2025-09-25T06:49:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-07T06:33:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":645,"height":282,"url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Shahzad Masood Rumi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shahzad Masood Rumi","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/","url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/","name":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP - Voice of KP English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png","datePublished":"2025-09-25T06:49:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-07T06:33:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5180c4339e4a0658a9aa49dff7e471d6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/11\/Article-Pic-2-Alarming-trend-of-Drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-e1763535197239.png","width":645,"height":282,"caption":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/alarming-trend-of-drone-attacks-on-security-forces-in-kp-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alarming Trend of Drone Attacks on Security Forces in KP"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/","name":"Voice of KP English","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5180c4339e4a0658a9aa49dff7e471d6","name":"Shahzad Masood Rumi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/358795298_1439401733609132_7184900124463188461_n-135x135.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/358795298_1439401733609132_7184900124463188461_n-135x135.jpg","caption":"Shahzad Masood Rumi"},"url":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/author\/shahzad-masood-rumi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46773,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46770\/revisions\/46773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofkp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}