ISLAMABAD: Two policemen were killed and two others sustained injuries in the wake of a roadside blast in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police said on Monday.
The blast, which police said targeted an armored personnel carrier in KP’s Tank district, comes amid a surge in militant attacks in the northwestern Pakistani province that borders Afghanistan.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement issued from his office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bomb attack and expressed sorrow over the killing of the policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI).
“The nation will never forget the sacrifices of police and security forces,” Sharif said, promising to avenge the killings of Pakistani security personnel and civilians.
The bomb attack came days after four militants were killed in a shootout with police in KP’s Karak district, police said.
The Pakistani province has seen a surge in militancy in recent years, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups frequently targeting police and security forces’ convoys and check-posts.
Pakistan blames the surge in attacks 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.
