Pakistan: 4 Policemen Killed, 6 Injured In Taliban Terror Attack

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Relatives and security officials prepare to offer funeral prayers for policemen who were killed by a roadside bomb in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 30.

Source : AFP

New Delhi: Taliban terrorists on Thursday morning opened fire at a police mobile van in northwest Pakistan, killing at least four policemen, including an officer, and injuring six others, according to a PTI report.

The terrorists attacked the police van in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The vehicle was on its way to the Saddar police station when it came under the attack, police said, according to the report. 

In the attack, four policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were killed, meanwhile, six others were injured, police said. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

A spokesperson of Lakki Marwat police said that the attack was launched in the early hours of Thursday, resulting in an exchange of fire between the police and the terrorists.

A police statement said that the militants were equipped with advanced and heavy weaponry, PTI reported citing the Dawn newspaper.

“The police were on alert and the attackers had to flee when the police returned fire,” it said. The terrorists fled while taking advantage of the darkness, it added.

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Condemning the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the sacrifices of police officers in the war against terrorism were unforgettable and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons.

"Police are performing magnificent duties against the terrorist as the first line of defence. Elimination of terrorism is a must for Pakistan’s survival and development,” Shehbaz said in a statement.

As terrorism-related incidents surge in Pakistan, the latest attack adds to the worsening law and order situation in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where terrorist groups have been carrying out attacks with near impunity across the country, reported PTI.

Since the talks with the Taliban group broke down in November, the TTP has intensified its attacks, particularly targeting the police.

According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018, as 134 people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country, PTI reported. 

In January, a powerful suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar Police Lines killed 84 people and injured many others.