At least six police officers were killed and three others injured in two separate bomb attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. The attacks occurred on Monday, according to local officials.
Authorities said a remote-controlled bomb targeted an armored police vehicle on Gomal Bazaar Road in Tank district, killing six officers on the spot.
On the same day, another attack targeted a police van in Lakki Marwat district, injuring three officers, one of whom remains in critical condition.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attacks and paid tribute to the fallen police personnel. Following the incidents, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) launched security operations in Peshawar, Bannu, and Khyber districts.
Security forces claimed that at least eight armed militants were killed during the operations and that several planned acts of sabotage were foiled.
Naqvi said security forces would continue their fight until peace is fully restored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, instability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has intensified in recent months. Since October last year, the two countries have witnessed a series of deadly border-related incidents. Pakistan has accused Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, of launching cross-border attacks from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, alleging that the group receives financial and logistical support from neighboring India.
Source:Anadulu.