Pakistan: Policemen, civilian killed in drive-by attack at Jhangi police checkpoint

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 14 (ANI): Two persons including a police officer were killed while another was injured when they were attacked by two bike-borne miscreants at the Jhangi police checkpoint of Pakistan's Taunsa Sharif district, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Saturday.
The accused escaped after the attack.
They attacked Punjab police off-road border checkpoint and killed a police officer identified as Mazar, and a passer-by. Another policeman, Ramzan, was injured in the attack, according to sources, Dawn newspaper reported.
Unidentified persons, whom the Taunsa police called "militants" carried out the attack and a rescue team was dispatched to the remote checkpoint post the attack.
The Punjab police checkpoint at Jhangi is intended to prevent the infiltration of undesirable elements into the province, according to Dawn newspaper.
Recently, two Pakistani police personnel and a civilian were killed in separate militant attacks in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Two men in their 40s, including a police officer, lost their lives when armed motorcyclists attacked them near the Paharkhel Thall area in Lakki Marwat, the Dawn reported.
"As soon as Younas Khan and Asmatullah riding a motorcycle reached Manjiwala link road from Paharkhel Thall village, two armed motorcyclists opened fire on them," a police officer was quoted as saying by the Pakistani newspaper.
In a separate incident, a police constable was killed and another was injured in an attack in the Bhittani sub-division of Lakki Marwat late on Thursday night.
The policemen came under attack within the limits of Shadikhel police station while they were on the way to the Wargarey police station to assist their colleagues, who were attacked by a group of terrorists.
Earlier this month, a terrorist was killed and a police constable was killed when terrorists attacked a police check-post in the Shahbazkhel area of the district.
The surge in militant attacks comes amid the rising presence of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the country.
In its annual report, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said the Pakistan security forces lost at least 282 personnel during 2022 in attacks, which included IED ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions.
"The year 2022 ended with the deadliest month (thus far) for Pakistan's security personnel over a decade, with the emergence of a new terror triad comprising TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Daesh-Afghanistan as the biggest threat to the country," the CRSS report said.
December 2022 alone saw 40 fatalities as it became the year's deadliest month. (ANI)