PESHAWAR: At least two civilians were killed and 35 others, including 17 police personnel, were injured in a militant attack on a police post in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police said on Monday.
KP, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in violence, with the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other militant groups frequently targeting security convoys and checkpoints.
The latest attack targeted the police post late on Sunday night in Mirbagh area of Kurram, a volatile district bordering Afghanistan that has seen a rise in militant and sectarian violence in recent years.
The attack was repulsed after hours-long heavy exchange of fire between police and the assailants, according to Kurram police spokesperson Riaz Khan. No group has claimed responsibility for the assault.
“During the fighting with unknown armed men, two civilians were killed and 18 others were injured,” Khan told Arab News. “Seventeen police personnel who were fighting with the militants were injured in the attack.”
The injured policemen and civilians were shifted to local hospitals, where they were under treatment, according to the police spokesman.
Khan said a search operation was underway to hunt down the attackers.
Dozens of militants, security personnel, police and civilians have been killed in militant attacks and counter-insurgency operations in KP in recent months.
Islamabad has frequently accused India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for attacks in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan. New Delhi and Kabul deny this.
