A cop was martyred and four others were injured as a result of gunfire between the public, police and terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, the police said on Thursday.

Speaking to Dawn.com, spokesperson to the regional police officer, Khanzala Quraishi, said, “The members of the peace committee, along with police personnel, were patrolling the area when they were attacked by terrorists at around 12:30am.”

He said that police personnel, Murtaza Jan, embraced martyrdom, while four others, including a school teacher and a police constable, were injured in the attack.

“The incident took place within the limits of the Hoyed Police Station,” he said, adding that the “terrorists fled the scene due to the quick response from the police”.

He continued: “The injured and the deceased were moved to a hospital. The school teacher is in critical condition.”

KP Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed was also on a visit to the region for reviewing the security situation, he said.

The spokesperson added that people were “fed up with the terrorists and retaliated whenever they came across them”.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, vowing to target security forces, police, and law enforcement agencies personnel.

Earlier this month, a policeman was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of the Mandan police station in Bannu.