LAKKI MARWAT: At least four policemen were killed and as many injured in an ambush on a police station in Lakki Marwat district, the police and local media reported on Sunday.

The brazen attack, which is the latest in a slew of similar incidents in recent months, took place in the Lakki Marwat district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, abutting neighbouring Afghanistan.

Heavily-armed suspected militants, a police spokesman said, attacked Burgai police station located in the southern outskirts of Lakki Marwat from two sides on late Saturday night.

The attackers, he said, used hand grenades and rocket launchers, killing four policemen on the spot, whereas another four were seriously injured. A search operation is underway to arrest the “terrorists,” he added. The martyred policemen included Head constable Ibrahim, Constable Imran, Elite Force constable Khair ur Rehman and Constable Sabz Ali while the injured policemen included PASI Gul Sahib, Constable Balqiyaz, Constable Ameer Nawaz, and Constable Farman Ullah.

The suspects fled the scene after exchanging heavy gunfire with the police. The bodies and the injured police officials were shifted to the hospitals.

TTP ends ceasefire, orders nationwide attacks

District Police Officer Zia Uddin along with a heavy police contingent reached the site and cordoned off the area. A search operation has been launched in the area to track down the suspects.

Located 207 kilometers (128 miles) from the Peshawar, Lakki Marwat has become a new hotbed of militancy with increasing terrorist attacks launched by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on security forces in recent months. Last month, six policemen were killed in a TTP-claimed ambush in Lakki Marwat.

The recent attacks are the aftermath of rescinding a fragile cease-fire between Pakistani security forces and the TTP, which could last only a few months. Both sides blame each other for the violation of the cease-fire. Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks from the Afghan side of the border, following the Taliban’s storming back to power in Kabul in August last year.

Islamabad has been urging the Taliban to live up to their commitments to rein in terrorist groups and not to allow them to use Afghan soil as a launch pad for attacks.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayer of the four police officials, who embraced martyrdom during an armed attack on the Baragai police station late at night on Saturday, has been offered here in Lakki Police Lines on Sunday.

The funeral was offered with full official protocol and honour which was also attended by Regional Police Officer (RPO) Bannu Syed Ashfaq Anwar, District Police Officer Lakki Marwat Zia ud Din Ahmad, senior military and civil administration officials, relatives of the deceased besides large number of the local elders.

The smartly turned-out contingent of police presented salutes to the martyred cops. The RPO, DPO, and other participants laid floral wreaths on the coffins of martyred policemen wrapped in the national flag.

The unidentified assailants attacked the Baragai police station with hand grenades and rocket launchers at midnight which resulted in the martyrdom of four policemen, including Head constable Ibrahim, Constable Imran, Elite Force constable Khair ur Rehman and Constable Sabz Ali.

At the funerals, the RPO condoled with the heirs of the martyrs and paid tribute to the services of police martyrs for the department. He said the sacrifices of police martyrs would not go in vain.

He vowed that the elements involved in this cowardly attack would be brought to justice soon.

He reiterated the determination that the war against terrorism would be continued till the elimination of the last terrorist.

The RPO said the police and the public were on the same page against the terrorists and steps were being taken to establish law and order with the support of the people. He said the police would not hesitate to make any sacrifice to keep the national flag high. The public should avoid giving shelter to terrorists and inform the police immediately in case they notice any suspected activity around them, he added.

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