9 police personnel killed, 28 injured in militant attack in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, July 30: At least nine police personnel were killed and 28 injured when militants attacked a police check post in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said Thursday.

The attack took place late Wednesday at the Khazana check post in Hangu district, near the Afghan border, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police. Deputy Superintendent of Police Diyar Khan was among those killed after militants attacked the post with heavy weapons.

Police said additional forces were dispatched to reinforce the checkpoint, but the militants ambushed the reinforcements before they could arrive. An armored personnel carrier was severely damaged in the attack.

“Nine police personnel have been martyred, while 28 personnel, including DSP Mujahid Hussain, have been injured,” KP Police said.

Police said 15 militants, referred to by Pakistani authorities as “khawarij,” were killed during the retaliatory operation, while several others were wounded.

The confrontation was still underway, police said, adding that no group had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has carried out numerous attacks against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2007. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants, a charge Kabul has denied.

The attack came hours after Pakistan’s military said security forces had killed 32 militants in intelligence-based operations conducted over the previous 24 hours in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan.

On July 24, militants attacked a joint police and security forces check post in Tank district, killing 15 people, including 12 soldiers, two policemen and a government official.