Policeman, two militants killed in gunfight in Pakistan’s restive northwest

ISLAMABAD: A policeman and two militants were killed in a gunfight in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Monday, a police official said, in the latest incident of militant violence in the restive region.
The incident unfolded as the militants attacked a police vehicle in KP’s Bannu district, according to local police officer Qadir Khan.
The firefight took place near the Mirian police station.
“Terrorists ambushed the police party, leaving one police constable dead and forcing the rest to encircle them,” Khan told Arab News. “In the ensuing gunbattle, two terrorists were killed.”
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Last week, six Pakistani soldiers and 22 militants were killed in three separate gunfights in Tank, North Waziristan and Kurram districts of KP.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.
Afghan officials, however, deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.