Three cops were martyred while another six were injured in an attack on a police check post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district late last night, officials said on Thursday.
According to a statement from the KP Police Central Office, “Unknown terrorists opened fire from all sides at a checkpost in Karak’s Bahadur Khel area, targeting police personnel using light and heavy weapons in an attempt to capture the check post.”
The deceased have been identified as Taimur, Hayat, Naqeeb and Adnan. Four injured personnel were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Karak. However, three of the wounded have then been shifted to Peshawar due to being in critical condition.
The attack sparked a prolonged exchange of gunfire before the assailants fled. Police reinforcements and emergency responders arrived at the scene shortly after the attack.
The bodies of the slain officers and the injured personnel were transported to the district headquarters hospital.
KP Inspector General of Police (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed, Kohat Regional Police Officer Abbas Majeed, Kohat Commissioner Mautasim Balallah, Karak Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Jan, and other civil officers were among the attendees.
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IG Hameed met the bereaved family members and assured them that the blood of the martyred would not go in vain.
The bodies of the martyred police personnel have been sent to their respective native areas.
“Our jawaans fought bravely and thwarted the enemy’s attack,” IG Hameed said while speaking to the media in Karak this morning.
“The cowardly terrorists wanted to lay siege to this check post, overpower it and take over our personnel. However, the terrorists were unsuccessful in their attempts and fled,” he said.
The IG further said that KP police would take good care of the families of the martyred personnel.
“KP police will uproot the menace of terrorism. The terrorists want to cause harm to the people, but the people and KP police are united,” IG Hameed said.
“Nothing will prevent us from uprooting the menace of terrorism.”
While responding to a media question, IG Hameed said KP police will “find terrorists wherever they are hiding and ensure that justice is served”, adding that all resources will be used to achieve this goal.
“We salute the sacrifice of the martyred officers of the KP police,” he was quoted as saying in a statementterr on X by the interior ministry. “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police are on the front lines in the war against terrorism.”
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also expressed condolences to the families of the fallen officers, pledging state support for them. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating terrorism.