PESHAWAR: Unknown militants shot dead personnel of Khyber Pakhtunwa Police's Elite Force Unit in Rasheed Ghari area on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Imtiaz told DawnNews that elite force policemen Shahzeb and Ihsanullah were riding a motorcycle en route to their office when unidentified armed men opened fire.

The SP stated that both the victims were well trained in the use of security scanners.

The motorcycle-riding assailants escaped from the attack site.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mubarak Zeb Khan told journalists that search operations are being conducted in the area where the cops were targeted.

"I came out of my house after hearing gunshots and saw two injured policemen lying on the road, they were taken to hospital but the two succumbed to their wounds," an eyewitness who is a resident of Rasheed Ghari area told DawnNews.

At least 60 people have been killed in various terror attacks in Pakistan since the start of 2016.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

For decades the city of Peshawar has faced the threat of militants, due to its status as a front line for the ongoing war on terror as well as its proximity to the restless tribal areas and the Pak-Afghan border.

The Nation Action Plan, devised and approved immediately after the APS tragedy and Zarb-i-Azb Operation in North Waziristan has made a serious and major dent in the militants` capabilities, freedom of movement and freedom of action.

Militants have been driven out of the major redoubt and last sanctuary in the tribal region of North Waziristan and Tirah in Khyber tribal region. Pockets however, remain in the region between North and South Waziristan, a portion in Shawal and small valley of Tirah called Rajgal bordering Afghanistan.

Despite the claims of phenomenal success in the military operations the onset of 2016 has seen a spike in terror-related incidents with more than 60 deaths reported in terrorist attacks across the country during the first 20 days.