By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA): At least three policemen, including a senior officer, were killed in an ambush on a police station in northwest Pakistan, the police said on Saturday. The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed it was responsible for the attack.

The brazen attack, which is the latest in a slew of similar incidents in recent months, took place in Peshawar, the provincial capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“A group of terrorists attacked Sarband police station at midnight from different sides,” Kashif Aftab Abbasi, a senior police officer, told reporters.

He added that three policemen, including deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Sardar Hussain, were killed while chasing the terrorists after the attack.

“Terrorists used grenades, sniper rifles, and automatic weapons in the attack, and apparently the DSP was targeted by a sniper,” he said.

Police launched a search operation in the area to arrest the terrorists.

During the last few months, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan has again become a hotbed of militancy with increasing terrorist attacks launched by outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Last month, several policemen were killed in TTP-claimed attacks in Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, and Bannu districts.

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.

Earlier this month, the National Security Committee (NSC), the top body of civilian and military leadership of Pakistan, warned that no country will be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to terrorists carrying out attacks in Pakistan.

[Map of Pakistan from CIA Factbook/Public Domain]