Four police officers shot dead in two attacks in northwest Pakistan

Four police officers died this Sunday in two almost simultaneous armed attacks perpetrated by alleged insurgents in the conflictive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the northwest of Pakistan, police sources informed EFE.

The most serious incident took place in the Lakki Marwat district, where a group of armed men traveling on a motorcycle opened fire on a traffic patrol in the town of Sarai Naurang. Local police deputy superintendent Shama Raz Khan confirmed to EFE that the attack was selective and caused the immediate death of three officers, identified as Jalal Khan, Azizullah, and Abdullah. Security forces have cordoned off the area to try to locate the attackers, who managed to escape.

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In a second incident that occurred in the neighboring district of Bannu, another group of unknown individuals shot and killed officer Rashid Khan in the Kashfi Khel area. According to Wajid Khan, police control officer of the area, who explained to EFE, the victim was ambushed while traveling from his home to the police station to begin his shift. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the killings and promised justice for the victims’ families, at a time when security forces are the main target of violence in this region. Pakistan has experienced a dramatic surge in terrorism, especially in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Taliban took power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. The southern districts of the province, such as Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Waziristan, have become regular points of ambush against the police and the army.