KHYBER: A constable, escorting a polio team, embraced martyrdom during a shootout between the police and assailants in Bara tehsil of the Khyber district on Friday.

Officials said that a police party came under an armed attack from militants near Nala Khwarr when they were returning from performing their security responsibilities during the ongoing polio vaccination campaign.

District Police Officer Salim Abbas Kulachi, while identifying the martyred cop as Sadeeq Khan, said a militant was also eliminated when the police party retaliated with gunfire after the attack.

The identity of the dead suspected militant could not be immediately established.

The DPO said that an extensive search operation was conducted in the Nala locality of Malakdin Khel, once a stronghold of militants, soon after the attack. However, he provided no information about any arrests of the attackers during the search operation.

The funeral prayer of the martyred police personnel was later offered at the Police Centre at Shah Kas in Jamrud, with police, military, and district administration officials in attendance.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2023