Three policemen among four martyred in Kohat attack

• Police, army cordon off entire area to hunt down terrorists.
  
• Terrorists believed to be holed up in the nearby mountainous area.
• Earlier this week, five policemen martyred in Mamund attack.

At least four people including three police personnel were martyred in a terrorist attack near Lachi Toll Plaza on the Kohat Indus Highway, Geo News reported on Wednesday.

According to the initial reports, more than 10 terrorists attacked the Lachi Toll Plaza and security checkpost, leaving four, including three policemen dead.

Heavy contingents of the police and Pakistan Army cordoned off the entire area and launched a search operation to hunt down the terrorists. 

Terrorists are believed to be holed up in the nearby mountainous area. When contacted, police sources said the terrorists will be arrested in the ongoing search operation.

Earlier this week, a roadside bomb martyred at least five police officers deployed to protect polio vaccination workers in Mamund tehsil of Bajaur district, Geo News reported.

Pakistani districts along the border with Afghanistan have seen a dramatic spike in attacks since the Taliban returned to power there in 2021.

Islamabad claims Kabul is sheltering allied militants such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) allowing them to strike on its soil with impunity.

According to the statistics issued by the Department of Interior and Tribal Affairs KP, the areas most affected by terrorism include Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur, and Tank while Dera Ismail Khan and North Waziristan and South Waziristan are included in the terror-affected areas.

The documents of the Home and Tribal areas revealed that a total of 1,050 incidents of terrorism took place in KP last year while 419 incidents of terrorism took place in the arranged districts, 631 incidents in the merged districts.