PESHAWAR, Pakistan — In the early hours of Thursday, a police post in the volatile region of northwestern Pakistan was assaulted by militants wielding assault rifles, resulting in the deaths of three police officers and injuries to five others, according to local law enforcement officials. The incident took place in Karak, a district located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan. Police representative Abbas Khan reported that law enforcement officers managed to return fire during the conflict.

As of now, no group has come forward to claim responsibility for this violent act.

In a related incident overnight, security forces executed an operation in North Waziristan, another district adjacent to Afghanistan, which led to a fierce exchange of gunfire. The military reported that 12 militants and one soldier lost their lives during the confrontation. Additionally, a variety of weapons and ammunition were seized from the deceased militants, according to a military statement.

Shafqat Ali Khan, a representative for the foreign affairs ministry, announced on Thursday that the remains of one of the assailants killed by Pakistani forces have been transferred to Afghan officials. He noted that the deceased individual was the offspring of an Afghan government official from the Badghis province in western Afghanistan, but did not provide any further information regarding the case.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, expressed his condemnation of the attack in a statement that also extended condolences to the families of the deceased police officers. He attributed the attack to the Pakistani Taliban, a group also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The country has experienced an increase in militant activities over the past few months, with most of these incidents linked to the TTP. Although the TTP is affiliated with the Taliban that took control of Afghanistan in 2021, it operates as a distinct entity.