In brief
In Upper South Waziristan on Saturday, the assistant head of the police’s bomb disposal squad was killed after a second improvised explosive device detonated while he tried to neutralise it, following a successful defusal of an earlier device. The death was confirmed by district police officer Ashfaq Khan, but details on why the secondary device exploded remain unclear.
In the rural Sararogha area of Upper South Waziristan district in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an assistant head of Pakistan’s police bomb disposal squad lost his life on Saturday after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during his attempt to neutralise a second explosive, police officials said.
The officer had successfully defused an earlier IED planted in the same vicinity, demonstrating the squad’s capacity to handle high‑risk ordnance before the fatal blast occurred.
Police said the first device was detonated while the officer was working in the area, but a second explosive then exploded as he undertook its defusal, leaving him with critical injuries.
District police officer Ashfaq Khan told local media that the official sustained critical injuries in the explosion and later succumbed to them.
The incident occurred while routine bomb disposal operations were underway to maintain safety in Upper South Waziristan, according to the police’s official statement.
Upper South Waziristan is located within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region that has repeatedly hosted militant activity and the deployment of police security forces.
The bomb disposal squad operates under the police hierarchy and is responsible for locating, identifying, and neutralising IEDs and other explosive threats.
During the operation, the assistant head of the squad had already finished defusing the first device and was preparing to work on a second device that was known to be present in the area.
Police investigators expressed concern that the secondary device detonated unexpectedly, suggesting a possible pre‑planned secondary mechanism designed to trigger after the first device was neutralised.
While no additional statements were released by higher authorities in the immediate aftermath, the district police confirmed that the official later died from his injuries.
The destruction of the second IED raises questions about the chain of events that led to the explosion, including whether the device was a clustered IED or an independently armed parcel.
Officials have not yet identified the precise cause of the detonation during the defusal attempt, leaving the matter subject to ongoing investigation.
Because bomb disposal work is conducted in highly volatile environments, the death highlights the inherent dangers these specialists face daily.
In the weeks preceding the incident, the district police had emphasized the importance of rigorous inspection protocols when dealing with potential unexploded devices.
The incident underscores the persistence of explosive threats in the region, despite efforts to reduce the overall threat level through intelligence and counter‑terrorism operations.
While the police release a short statement, no further details about technical aspects of the devices or the procedures in use were provided.
The death prompted a brief statement from district authorities expressing condolences, but no additional information about the operation’s specifics was issued at that time.
Uncertainties remain regarding the reason a secondary device detonated under the officer’s hand, the precise nature of the IEDs involved, and the exact sequence of actions that led to the fatal explosion.
