Five Pakistani police killed in gun-and-bomb attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Five Pakistani police personnel were killed on Tuesday after their vehicle was ambushed with explosives and gunfire in the country’s northwest. The attack took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, even as separatist and Islamist militant groups separately claimed a series of deadly assaults on Pakistani security forces in Balochistan and Sindh.

What happened in the police van ambush?

Provincial Pakistani police said the officers were travelling in a van in Karak district when the vehicle was first struck by an improvised explosive device, after which attackers opened fire.

The blast and shooting killed four police officers and the driver, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The district, which lies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has largely avoided major militant violence in recent years, making the incident particularly alarming for security agencies.

How did Pakistan’s leadership respond?

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and praised the role of the police in combating militancy.

“Police have always played a frontline role in the war against terrorism,” Sharif said.

Security officials said investigations were under way to identify those responsible for the ambush.

Why is violence rising in Pakistan’s northwest?

The attack comes amid deteriorating relations between Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, following a surge in militant violence along the border.

Islamabad has blamed the resurgence of attacks on militant groups allegedly operating from Afghan territory. Kabul has rejected the accusations, insisting that Pakistan’s security problems are an internal matter.

Pakistan’s mountainous border regions have long been home to militants linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has waged an insurgency against the state for nearly two decades.

What is happening in Balochistan?

Separately, the Baloch Liberation Army said its fighters killed six Pakistani soldiers in three coordinated attacks across Balochistan, according to a report by The Balochistan Post.

In a statement, BLA spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said fighters carried out a remote-controlled IED attack in the Daghari area on the outskirts of Quetta, killing four soldiers who were “assembled after clearing a railway track” and injuring two others.

He said a second attack later that evening targeted soldiers in the Kalamuddin area of Dhadar in Kachhi district, where militants allegedly used automatic weapons and rockets as troops were leaving their posts.

A third assault, the group claimed, took place late on Friday night in Saami, Kulag area of Kech district, where rockets and automatic weapons were used against a Pakistani Army post, killing two soldiers and causing further damage.

Which other militant groups claimed attacks?

The Balochistan Liberation Front also claimed responsibility for four attacks carried out between December 18 and 20 in Nushki, Tump and Dasht, again according to The Balochistan Post.

BLF spokesman Major Gwahram Baloch said fighters targeted a Pakistani forces vehicle with an IED in the Zarrin Jungle area of Nushki, killing three personnel and injuring two others. He said the vehicle was “destroyed”.

He added that on December 19, BLF fighters shot down a quadcopter drone in the Malant area of Tump and later fired grenade launchers at a nearby military camp, causing what he described as “casualties and material losses”.

In another incident, the BLF said it destroyed equipment at a Ufone mobile tower in the Shay Zangi area of Dasht, claiming it was being used for surveillance.

Was there violence outside Balochistan?

Yes. The Baloch Republican Guards claimed an attack on a police station in the Bhit Shah area of Hyderabad district in Sindh, according to the same report.

BRG spokesman Dostain Baloch said fighters hurled a hand grenade at the station, causing what he called “human and material losses” to police. He said the group would continue its operations “until the freedom of Balochistan”.