Islamabad, Nov 20 (NationPress) Two police personnel have lost their lives and four others sustained injuries following a bomb attack on a police van in Dera Ismail Khan, situated in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local sources reported on Thursday.

The District Police Officer (DPO) of Dera Ismail Khan, Sajjad Ahmad Sahibzada, verified the casualties, explaining that a remotely controlled explosive device detonated while an armored police vehicle from the Takwara checkpost was patrolling the Hathala-Giloti road, as reported by the prominent daily Dawn.

This assault on the police vehicle occurred just over a week after another bomb attack in Daraban tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan, which resulted in injuries to at least 14 security personnel when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) struck a security forces vehicle.

There has been a notable increase in terrorist activities across Pakistan over the past year, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the end of a ceasefire by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with the government in November 2022.

On November 8, a police officer was injured when unidentified attackers targeted a checkpost in the Tangi region of Khar tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The injured officer was identified as Azad Khan, who was struck by gunfire from an unknown location, according to Dawn.

Earlier on November 4, armed assailants attacked and set ablaze a police station in Kachhi district of Balochistan, while unidentified individuals launched a grenade attack on a checkpost in the Western Bypass area of Quetta, the provincial capital.

Officials indicated that approximately two dozen armed individuals, wielding heavy weapons, targeted the Khattan Police Station in Kachhi district. The attackers entered the station, setting fire to official documents and furniture.

Before fleeing, they also stole two rifles, including an SMG and a G-3, alongside a mobile device and a private motorcycle.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) revealed in its latest security report that Pakistan experienced a staggering 46 percent increase in overall violence during the third quarter of 2025.

The report indicated that there were at least 901 fatalities and 599 injuries among civilians, security forces, and criminals resulting from 329 violent incidents, which included terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

From January to September 2024, Pakistan recorded 1,527 fatalities (Q1-Q3). The total fatalities of 2,414 during the same timeframe mark a 58 percent upsurge in violence. However, the sources of these fatalities have shifted, with 505 deaths attributed to security operations in 2024 and 1,022 deaths due to terrorist attacks.

The report emphasized, "In 2025, security operations accounted for 1,265 deaths – more than half of the total fatalities. This trend highlights the intensified response of the state, with security forces inflicting greater losses on militants."

Furthermore, the CRSS report noted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan represented over 96 percent of the violence recorded during this quarter. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was particularly hard-hit, suffering nearly 71 percent (638) of the total violence-related fatalities and over 67 percent (221) of the violent incidents, with Balochistan following, accounting for over 25 percent of fatalities (230) and incidents (85). Other regions recorded relatively low numbers of fatalities, injuries, and violent occurrences.