3 policemen killed as terrorists attack police station in northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AA) – At least three policemen, including a senior officer, were killed in an attack on a police station in northwest Pakistan, the police said on Saturday.

The brazen attack, which is the latest in a slew of similar incidents in recent months, took place in Peshawar, the provincial capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“A group of terrorists attacked Sarband police station at midnight from different sides,” Kashif Aftab Abbasi, a senior police officer, told reporters.

He added that three policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were killed when they chased the terrorists after the attack.

“Terrorists used grenades, sniper rifles, and automatic weapons in the attack, and apparently the DSP was targeted by a sniper,” he said.

Police launched a search operation in the area to arrest the terrorists.

During the last few months, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan has again become a hotbed of militancy with increasing terrorist attacks launched by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Last month, several policemen were killed in TTP-claimed attacks in Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, and Bannu districts.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks from the Afghan side of the border following the Taliban’s storming back to power in Kabul in August last year.

Islamabad has been urging the Taliban to live up to their commitments to rein in terrorist groups and not to allow them to use Afghan soil for attacks in Pakistan.

Earlier this month, the National Security Committee (NSC), the top body of civilian and military leadership of Pakistan, said that no country would be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to terrorists carrying out attacks in Pakistan.