At least ten police officers were killed when dozens of militants stormed a police station in northern Pakistan early on Monday, according to a top commander.
Days remain before Pakistan’s general election, which has already seen numerous attacks on candidates and party members.
“More than 30 terrorists launched an attack from three directions. There was an exchange of fire for over two and a half hours,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akhtar Hayat Gandapur told AFP.
He claimed that in the attack on the Chaudhwan police station in the Dera Ismail Khan area, ten officers were slain and four were injured.
For many years, the border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been a militancy hotspot, with fighters from the Islamic State and the Pakistan Taliban attacking government and security objectives.
Gandapur informed AFP that during the early-morning attack on Monday, which began around 1:30 am, the militants momentarily took over the police station.
