Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters

Pakistan's security personnel gather to protest around an ambulance carrying the body of a slain policeman who was killed in an attack by gunmen, in Bannu on September 12, 2024. (AFP/File)
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  • Militants storm police headquarters in district Bannu, say police 
  • Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban claims responsibility for attack

PESHAWAR: At least three policemen were killed in northwest Pakistan when militants stormed a district police headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, a police source told Reuters.

The attack on the complex, which houses both the district police headquarters and a residential complex, was ongoing, the high-ranking police source said, adding that the assailants, who included suicide bombers, had been “pinned down” in the area.

Three assailants were killed by police, he added.

The source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said three policemen were killed while resisting the assault on the Police Lines of District Bannu, which borders the restive North Waziristan tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesperson for the group said.

The roads around the complex have been closed to traffic as security forces moved to neutralize the remaining attackers, the police source added.

Bannu is about 350 kilometers from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, which is under strict security lockdown due to the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday ahead of a regional leaders’ meeting this week.