PESHAWAR: Three police officers, including a senior superintendent, were killed on Friday in an apparent double-tap attack targeting a checkpoint in Hangu district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.

Police said the assault began when unidentified militants detonated explosives near the Ghulamiana checkpoint, damaging the facility but causing no immediate casualties.

A second, more powerful blast struck soon after, when a police team led by the Superintendent of Police (Operations) Asad Zubair arrived to inspect the site, killing all three officers instantly.

“The police party, headed by the Superintendent of Police, reached the scene when their vehicle hit a planted bomb, leaving all three police officials martyred on the spot,” Hangu police spokesman Saqib Khan told Arab News. “One constable suffered injuries.”

Reinforcements were dispatched to secure the area, and the bodies were shifted to a local hospital for post-mortem examinations, Khan said, adding that security forces swiftly retaliated, killing two militants after a gunbattle after a search operation in the mountains.

“After an intense exchange of fire lasting about 30 minutes, two terrorists were neutralized and their bodies recovered,” he said. “The identification process is currently underway.”

Pakistani officials have long blamed the surge in militant violence on cross-border sanctuaries in Afghanistan, saying attacks have increased since the Taliban took over political control in Kabul in 2021.

They accuse Afghan authorities of harboring groups such as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a charge Kabul denies, describing the violence as Pakistan’s internal security issue.

Reacting to the development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the bombing and sought an immediate report from the provincial police chief.

“Such cowardly attacks cannot dampen the morale of our police and Counter-Terrorism Department,” he said in a statement.

“The sacrifices of the martyred officers will not go in vain,” Afridi added. “All resources will be used to restore peace.”