Six policemen, two soldiers killed in separate attacks in northwest Pakistan

Police stands guard in Peshawar, Pakistan on August 7, 2022. (AFP/File)

• The attack on police personnel took place in Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
• The military’s media wing also confirms a skirmish between security forces and militants in Bajaur

PESHAWAR: Six policemen and two army soldiers were killed in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in separate incidents involving militant groups operating in the region, a senior police official and a statement issued by the military’s media wing, ISPR, confirmed on Wednesday. 
The first attack which claimed the lives of the policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), took place when militants ambushed a police van during routine patrolling. 
Shahid Marwat, a police spokesperson in Lakki Marwat city where the attack took place, told Arab News a police mobile team was on routine morning patrol when it came under attack by “terrorists” near Shahabkhel Abbasa Road in the jurisdiction of Dadiwala Police Station. 
“All six personnel headed by ASI Elm Deen were martyred on the spot. It was a terrorist attack but the investigation is underway to identify the perpetrators,” Marwat said, adding that a police First Information Report (FIR) would be registered after autopsies of the victims were concluded. 
Marwat said the area where the attack took place was covered in dense forest, from where the attackers emerged and opened fire at the patrolling party. 
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Muhammad Khurasani saying the police party was headed for a raid when it was ambushed. 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack. 
“Our armed forces & police have valiantly fought the scourge. No words are enough to condemn terrorists’ attack on a police van in Lakki Marwat. My thoughts & prayers are with bereaved families.” 
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan expressed grief over the incident and directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to submit a report. 
In the second incident, the ISPR mentioned the exchange of fire between the security forces and militants in Bajaur district in which a militant was killed. 
“The killed terrorist remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces,” the statement added. “However, during intense exchange of fire, Naik Taj Muhammad (age 33 years, resident of Kohat) and Lance Naik Imtiaz Khan (age 30 years, resident of Malakand) having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat [martyrdom].” 
The northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan borders Afghanistan and has seen militants largely known as Pakistani Taliban operate in the area for many years. 
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group, but they are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan more than a year ago as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout. 
The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban. Although the Taliban in Afghanistan have encouraged Islamabad and the TTP to reach a peace agreement through dialogue, talks amid a cease-fire between the two sides that started in May proved futile.