Two policemen were injured in an ambush on a checkpost in Mianwali by more than a dozen Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists — branded as kharijis (outcasts) by the government — late on Sunday night, according to a statement issued by the Punjab police today.

The spokesperson for the Punjab police said that the attack was repelled successfully, but the attackers escaped.

“Around 12-14 Khawariji terrorists took advantage of the darkness of the night to attack the Qubal Khel checkpost with rocket launchers and hand grenades,” the spokesman said.

In late July, the government declared TTP as Fitna al-Khawarij and all other terrorists associated with the group as khariji (outcasts).

The spokesperson said that the Punjab police personnel posted at the check post were “on alert” and, as a result, foiled the attack.

Mianwali DPO Akhtar Farooq, upon his visit of the checkpost, congratulated the personnel for derailing the ambush.

“The search operation is going on in the area, and there is a possibility of causing heavy loss to the fugitive terrorists,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, IG Punjab Dr Usman Anwar commended DPO Mianwali and the police personnel deployed at the checkpost for thwarting the attack.

He said that it was the ninth terrorist attack on the Punjab Police over the last few months that was thwarted.

“There is a lead hardened wall against terrorists at the interprovincial border posts,” he said, vowing that the police “will crush the evil intentions of the enemy in the future too”.