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KABUL – In a pre-dawn attack in northwest Pakistan, at least three police officers and a civilian were killed after a dozen armed militants targeted a police checkpoint along the Indus Highway in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday.
Jabir Khan, a local police official, reported that the militants initiated a shootout during the attack, prompting officers to return fire. Authorities are actively conducting a search operation to apprehend the assailants who fled the scene. While no group has immediately claimed responsibility, suspicions point towards the Pakistani Taliban, known for targeting security forces, especially in the northwest near the Afghan border.
This marks the third attack on police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province within the last three days, bringing the total number of officers killed to 12. In a separate incident on Tuesday, suspected militants shot and killed two police officers assigned to escort polio workers in the Bannu district. Two other officers were wounded in that attack, which was the second targeting a nationwide anti-polio drive. The day before, on Monday, a roadside bombing aimed at police protecting polio vaccination teams in Mamund claimed the lives of seven officers. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack, while the Islamic State group issued a competing claim, highlighting the ongoing challenges in the region.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, operates independently but is allied with the Afghan Taliban. The TTP’s activities intensified following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, bolstering their attacks near the Afghan border and throughout the country. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a surge in violence, with deadly incursions by militants last year, including a suicide bombing in January that claimed the lives of at least 101 people, predominantly police officers, in Peshawar. The situation underscores the persistent security challenges faced by the region.
