PESHAWAR: Two suspected militants were killed and several others injured during an attack on a police station in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Saturday.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in the province in recent years, with militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), frequently targeting convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Muhammad Alam, the public relations officer for the Peshawar police chief, said an intense exchange of fire broke out between police and militants in the early hours of Saturday after the Hassan Khel police station came under attack on the outskirts of Peshawar.
“The police demonstrated remarkable resilience engaging the terrorists in a fierce battle that lasted for over two hours,” he told Arab News.
“Two terrorists were killed while several others are believed to have sustained injuries,” he continued. “The terrorists fled the scene abandoning their dead accomplices.”
A clearance operation is currently underway with a heavy presence of police in the area.
The attack in Peshawar took place a day after a group of militants targeted a police training facility in Dera Ismail Khan, which, according to a statement by the Pakistani military, claimed the lives of six policemen, five suspected militants and a prayer leader.
Militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have surged since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the TTP and the Pakistani government collapsed.
At least 75 policemen were killed in ambushes and targeted attacks in the province last year, according to police data.
In recent months, Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of permitting the use of its soil for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have denied the allegations.
Earlier on Friday, the Afghan defense ministry warned Pakistan of consequences after accusing it of violating Afghan airspace to bomb a border town.
