PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants launched an attack on a security forces camp in Pakistan’s northwestern region on Monday, triggering a prolonged gunfight that resulted in the deaths of at least three security officers and one attacker, police reported.
According to local police official Nazar Mohammad, the incident took place in Hangu, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Seventeen security personnel sustained injuries during the clash. He added that the forces responded swiftly and have begun a search operation in the nearby mountainous areas to find the militants who escaped.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed condolences for the fallen officers and instructed that the injured receive top-quality medical care.
Although no group has claimed responsibility so far, authorities suspect the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. While the TTP is distinct from the Afghan Taliban, the two are closely aligned, and TTP members are known to operate from hideouts across the Afghan border.
Pakistan has seen an increase in such militant attacks in recent months.
This latest incident in Hangu follows shortly after the Pakistani military began a “targeted operation” against TTP militants in Bajaur, another district in the northwest, which forced nearly 100,000 people to flee their homes.
The government has yet to release detailed information about this ongoing operation. A similar anti-TTP campaign was conducted in Bajaur back in 2009.
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