Islamabad: Islamist militants stormed natural gas and oil production facilities in northwest Pakistan this week, killing four police and two private guards, police and the operator said. The attack by up to 50 militants took place at facilities run by MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company, a unit of Hungary’s MOL, in Hangu district near the Afghan border, police official Irfan Khan said.
Police said the militants targeted two wells, known as M-8 and M-10, with heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistani Taliban – claimed responsibility for the attack.
The TTP have operated for years from remote mountains in the northwest, launching attacks on security forces and infrastructure in their campaign against the state.
“No MOL employee was present at the scene of the attack, six members of the security forces guarding the area were killed,” MOL said, saying the members of the security forces included Pakistani soldiers and third party contractors.
