The Government Responds to the Attack on a Police Checkpoint in Pakistan

• Three officers were killed, and 17 were injured during the attack.
• The government has launched a search operation to apprehend the attackers.
• The latest attack came after a targeted operation against the TTP.

PEŠAVAR, Pakistan (AP) — Attackers targeted a police checkpoint in the northwestern part of Pakistan on Monday, resulting in the deaths of three officers and injuries to a dozen, police reported.

Seventeen police officers were injured as a result of the attack in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to local police officer Nazar Mahmood. He noted that police forces quickly responded and began a search operation in neighboring areas to identify the attackers who fled.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi honored the memory of the fallen officers in a statement and assured the government would provide the best possible medical treatment for the injured.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is suspected, likely, to be the work of the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP. While the TTP is a separate organization from the Afghan Taliban, it has links with them, and its fighters and leaders have taken refuge in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in such attacks in recent months.

The latest attack in Hangu occurred just weeks after the Pakistani army launched a "targeted operation" against the TTP in another northwestern region, Bajaur, which forced nearly 100,000 residents to flee their homes. At this moment, the government has not disclosed any details regarding the specifics of the operation.

Tags: Crime