PESHAWAR: At least four people were killed on Friday when unidentified armed men opened fire on an ambulance in the northwestern Pakistani district of Bannu, police said.
Bannu has witnessed several incidents of violence targeting both civilians and security forces, amid a broader rise in militancy in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.
However, no group claimed the latest attack, which took place within the jurisdiction of Mirakhel police station in Bannu.
“Unidentified armed men opened fire on the ambulance, killing four people on the spot,” Muhammad Bilal, the Mirakhel police station in-charge, told Arab News, adding that it occurred in wee hours of Friday.
The bodies were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Bannu.
The police official did not say what the motive of the attack was and who were the victims.
“A First Information Report has been registered against unidentified attackers,” Bilal said, adding that further investigation was underway.
Pakistani police and security forces have carried out targeted operations in several areas to disrupt militant networks, following a surge in militant attacks in KP in recent years.
Last week, seven people were killed and three others injured in twin explosions in Marka Bera, a semi-tribal mountainous area in Bannu.
Pakistan blames the surge in militancy in its western regions on militants operating out of Afghanistan, an allegation denied by Kabul.
The attacks have soured relations between Islamabad and Kabul, leading to fierce clashes between both sides since February this year.
