Five police officers were killed Tuesday when gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.
The attackers set the vehicle on fire after firing at it in Karak district, police said. The officers were on duty when the ambush took place.
Police identified the slain officers as Shahid Iqbal, Safdar, Arif, Samiullah and Muhammad Abrar.
The attack took place near Aman Kot in Garagri Banda area. The mountainous region lies along the border of Karak, Kohat and Lakki Marwat districts and is considered highly sensitive due to oil and gas reserves.
After the attack, the police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and began a formal investigation.
“We are investigating the incident from all angles and efforts are on to trace the attackers,” said Saud, district police officer of Karak.
Oil and gas from Garagri Banda is supplied to several southern districts of the province, including Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat, as well as Bhakkar. MOL Pakistan operates mining in the area with security provided by the Pakistan Army and other law enforcement agencies.
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The region has a history of militant violence. In the past, armed groups have attacked oil and gas installations, and workers at some sites have been kidnapped.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and expressed grief over the deaths.
“The police have always played a frontline role in the fight against terrorism,” Sharif said. “The whole nation pays homage to the martyrs.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also condemned the ambush.
“The sacrifices of police personnel will not go in vain. The provincial government stands with the police,” Afridi said.
The killings are the latest in a series of attacks on police in the province.
Last week, a police constable and his brother were shot dead in Lakki Marwat. Earlier this month, a police officer was killed and five others injured in a suicide bomb that hit a police vehicle in the same district.
In November, three police officers were killed while responding to a militant attack on a checkpoint in Hangu district.
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