BREAKING! Armed attack against MOL plant, six dead. Will fuel prices skyrocket? – UPDATED

Islamists attacked a Mol gas and oil plant in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border, killing four policemen and two security guards, local authorities have reported.

According to the Hungarian News Agency, MTI, some 50 extremists attacked the plant of Mol Pakistan Oil and Gas company, a member of the Mol group, in the Hangu district, near the Afghan border, police spokesman Ifran Hahn said. So far, no terrorist groups have taken responsibility for the attack, and the Mol subsidiary has been unavailable for comment.

Based on AP News, oil production was temporarily suspended following the attack. Otherwise, Hangu is a restive district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. MOL said the Islamist attackers did not reach the facility itself. They fought with security guards and troops outside. “Production from the wells has been temporarily shut down by remote access and the wells are now secured,” AP News quoted the company’s statement.

Sawab Khan, the local police’s chief, said they are on an extensive search to apprehend the perpetrators, who fled the area. Pakistani authorities blame the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group ended the ceasefire with the Islamabad government unilaterally last November. Afterwards, they launched multiple attacks. However, they can ask for shelter in nearby Afghanistan since they are allies of the local Taliban. Therefore, catching them will be challenging.

Reuters wrote the attackers targeted two wells (M-8 and M-10) with heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades. The casualties fell at M-10. They came from North Waziristan and damaged a solar power plant before fleeing. The Pakistani-Afghan border became perilous after the American forces withdrew from the country in 2021. Pakistan has the highest shale reserves in the world, the media outlet wrote.

UPDATE

MOL told MTI in a statement that none of the company’s employees had been present at the plant at the time of the attack. Production at the plant has been temporarily suspended via remote control and switched to back-up safety mode, the company said. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack later.

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