Gunmen kill five police officers in northwest Pakistan VIDEO

Five police officers were killed on December 23 after gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.

The attack took place in Karak district, where assailants ambushed the police vehicle while the officers were on duty, shot at it, and then set it ablaze, according to police, cited by the local outlet Tribune.

The slain officers were identified as Shahid Iqbal, Safdar, Arif, Samiullah, and Muhammad Abrar.

The incident occurred near Aman Kot in the Garagri Banda region, a mountainous and highly sensitive region located along the boundary of Karak, Kohat, and Lakki Marwat districts. The area is strategically important due to its oil and gas reserves.

Following the attack, security forces sealed off the area and launched a search operation. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and opened a formal inquiry.

“We are investigating the incident from all angles, and efforts are underway to trace the attackers,” Saud, the district police officer in Karak, said.

The Garagri Banda region has a long history of militant violence. Armed groups have previously targeted oil and gas installations, and workers at extraction sites have been kidnapped in past incidents.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

The killings are the latest in a series of attacks targeting police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Last week, a police officer and his brother were shot dead in Lakki Marwat. Earlier this month, a suicide bombing struck a police vehicle in the same district, killing one officer and wounding five others. In November, three police officers were killed while responding to a militant attack on a checkpoint in Hangu district.

By Khagan Isayev