ISLAMABAD: At least five police officers were killed on Tuesday after a police vehicle came under a suspected terrorist attack in the Gurguri area of Karak district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.
A district police spokesperson confirmed that all those killed were constables and were travelling in a police mobile at the time of the attack.
Security forces cordoned off the area soon after the incident, and a large police contingent launched a search and clearance operation to track down those responsible. While authorities have not yet disclosed the precise nature of the attack, images released by police showed the vehicle badly damaged, with signs of burning.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has an active presence in the area and has previously carried out similar assaults on security forces.
The incident is the latest in a wave of militant violence targeting law enforcement personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan. Last week, a police officer and his brother were killed in a gun attack in Lakki Marwat district. Earlier this month, one policeman was killed and five others wounded in a suicide bombing targeting a police patrol in the same area. In November, three police personnel were killed during an attack on a checkpost in Hangu district.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, paying tribute to the fallen officers and expressing condolences to their families. In a statement, he said such acts of terrorism would not weaken Pakistan’s resolve to combat militancy and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice.
