BANNU: Gunmen riding a motorcycle Wednesday evening shot dead four security personnel in Jani Khel area of Bannu District, close to the restive Frontier Region of Bannu, police said.

The outlawed militant Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

District Police Officer Waqar Ahmed confirmed that the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jani Khel police station was killed along with three other security personnel in the attack.

Ahmed said the police team was heading towards the police station after routine patrol when it was targeted by two gunmen riding a motorbike.

The three other security personnel included two Frontier Constabulary (FC) paramilitary soldier and a policemen, while three more were injured in the gun attack.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking to Dawn.Com from an undisclosed location, confirmed that Taliban gunmen had targeted the police vehicle.

He said that earlier the Pakistani Taliban had also attacked the police mobile van in Martong area of Shangla District with a remote control bomb which had injured four policemen.