At least three police officers, including a station station officer (SHO), were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire against a police patrol vehicle in the Daud Shah band area of the Karak district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Thursday.
According to the police, Shumo Nawaz was in a routine patrol with two agents when his mobile was under a sudden ambush. The attackers sprayed the vehicle with bullets, leaving the three officers dead at the scene.
A Karak police spokesman confirmed the incident and said the attackers fled the scene immediately after the assault. The security forces then cordoned off the area and carried a search operation.
Read: Kp shaken by a series of terrorist attacks against the police
The authorities have not published more details about the perpetrators or the progress of the investigation.
Separately, on Tuesday, unidentified gunmen attacked a passenger vehicle at Bajo Kurram, killing at least seven people in KP. According to the police, the attackers opened fire against the passenger vehicle near Ahmad Khan Kalle and fled the scene. Kurram District Police officer (DPO) Kurram Malik Habib declared that the attack was an attempt to sabotage peace in the area.
These recent ambush come in the midst of an increase in militant violence against the police in KP. In August alone, more than 13 coordinated weapons and grenades attacks were launched by terrorists in seven districts, killing at least six police officers. The authorities described the assaults of Independence Day as a direct challenge to the authority of the State.
