ISLAMABAD, Nov 27 (KUNA) -- At least three policemen lost their lives while two others sustained injuries in a militant attack targeting a check post in Pakistan's northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province bordering Afghanistan, said officials on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by the provincial Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), "terrorists" carried out a cowardly attack on the Qazi Talab check post in Hangu district of KPK late on Wednesday night.
It further said that a senior police official led the operation against the terrorists surrounding the area and "stood firm against the enemy like a wall of lead." It confirmed that three police personnel were martyred and two others wounded foiling the attack.
The CTD statement said that "intense fighting" had continued between police and the terrorists for two hours, and there were reports of several deaths among the terrorists. "The terrorists took advantage of the darkness of the night and the rocky mountainous terrain and fled, taking their dead and wounded with them. However, the body of an armed terrorist was recovered during the search and strike operation," the statement concluded.
Pakistan's Federal Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi has strongly condemned the attack on the check post in Hangu. He paid tribute to the three police officers died in the attack and expressed his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to their families.
Naqvi said that the sacrifices of the martyred officers will not go in vain, and these sacrifices are a clear proof of Pakistan's unwavering resolve in the war against terrorism. Earlier in the week, security forces killed 22 militants in an intelligence-based operation in Bannu District of KPK. The attack comes at a time when Pakistan is witnessing a rise in terror attacks especially in KPK and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan. (end) sbk.hs