LAKKI MARWAT/ BANNU: Three traffic police personnel were martyred in firing by suspected terrorists in the Serai Naurang area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Sunday.

Qudratullah, spokesperson for the district police officer (DPO), told Dawn the three traffic policemen were on duty near the Dil Begu Khel area when “unidentified terrorists, who were on a motorcycle”, opened fire on them.

As a result, they died on the spot, the spokesperson said.

Ticketing officer in-charge Jalal Khan was among the martyred, he said, adding that two other personnel were identified as Azizullah and Abdullah.

The bodies were moved to Naurang Hospital, and police have launched a search operation at the site of the incident, Qudratullah said.

Later in the day, the funeral prayers of the martyred traffic cops were offered at the Lakki Marwat Police Lines with official honours. Police and district administration officers, the bereaved family members and other residents attended the prayers.

A statement issued by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s office said he condemned the attack and termed the incident “unfortunate”.

“Sacrifices of the martyred policemen will not go in vain. Enemies of the countries cannot succeed in their nefarious designs by such cowardly acts,” the statement quoted him as saying.

He added that policemen were on the front line in the fight against terrorism and had been rendering sacrifices.

The CM said that attackers would be brought to justice and the provincial government was standing with the police.

He extended condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the departed souls.

Separately, a police constable was martyred in firing by unidentified attackers in the Kashfi Khel area of KP’s Bannu district, spokesperson for the Bannu DPO Asif Hasan told Dawn.

He said that martyred constable, Rashid Khan, was leaving his home for work on Sunday morning when armed assailants, who were on a motorcycle, shot him.

Following the incident, a large contingent of police reached the scene, cordoned off the area, and collected evidence, the spokesperson said. A search operation was also launched to arrest the attackers, he added.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his deep grief over the martyrdom of policemen in the firing incidents in Lakki Marwat and Bannu, a statement issued by the PPP said.

The president paid tribute to the cops’ sacrifices and prayed for their high ranks. “The services and sacrifices of policemen and security forces to establish law and order are worthy of pride,” he was quoted as saying.

Attacks in recent months

Law enforcement personnel have increasingly come under attack in KP in recent days.

Last month, five policemen were martyred when a police vehicle was ambushed in KP’s Karak. In response to the attack, a large police contingent, including the Counter-Terrorism Department’s commandoes, had launched an operation to hunt down the attackers. Eight terrorists were killed in that operation.

On December 1, two policemen embraced martyrdom and five others were injured in a suicide bombing and a gun attack in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts.

In late November, three police personnel were martyred as law enforcers responded to a terrorist attack on a checkpost in KP’s Hangu.

Similarly, a police head constable was martyred when unidentified assailants had opened fire at him in Mohammad Akbar village in the jurisdiction of Gul Imam police station of Tank district on November 9.

Prior to that, on October 24, three cops, including a superintendent of police, were martyred when back-to-back blasts had rocked Hangu.