PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants attacked a security forces camp in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, sparking an hours-long gunbattle that left at least three officers and one assailant dead, police said.
Seventeen security personnel were wounded in the assault in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to local police official Nazar Mohammad. He said security forces quickly responded and launched a search operation in the nearby mountains to track down the attackers who fled.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the slain officers in a statement and directed authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the wounded.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, have claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in such attacks in recent months.
