Pakistani Taliban killed at least five police officers and injured six others in a series of attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a police official told AFP on Friday.
Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the assaults, which come after the group announced a “spring campaign” against security forces in mid-March.
Since launching their campaign, the TTP has taken credit for over 80 attacks in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a porous border with Afghanistan.
Peshawar’s police chief, Qasim Ali, noted a significant increase in attacks targeting police recently. The region experiences daily incidents, with the military frequently reporting the elimination of “terrorists”.
Following TTP’s offensive announcement, Ali documented attacks on police across nine districts within just two days, stating that the force has intensified its counterterrorism operations in response.
According to AFP’s records, since the start of this year, militant attacks against the state in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent Balochistan province have resulted in over 170 casualties, predominantly security personnel.
Earlier this month, Balochistan experienced a train hijacking incident, during which 33 attackers were killed, and over 340 passengers were successfully rescued in a high-intensity operation in the southwest region.