Ambush, army raid leave 8 dead

Pakistani Taliban snatch weapons before fleeing scene

The Pakistani Taliban have for years operated in northwestern Pakistan. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan more than a year ago has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.

Armed militants yesterday ambushed a routine police patrol in northwestern Pakistan, killing all six policemen in the vehicle, while a shoot-out with gunmen elsewhere in the volatile region killed two soldiers, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the ambush in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has seen frequent attacks on security forces. The militant group — formally known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — is separate but allied to the Afghan Taliban.

The attackers who ambushed the police in the Dadewala area of the Lakki Marwat district escaped on motorcycles, according to police officer Rab Nawaz Khan. He said an investigation was underway.

A TTP spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani, said the police patrol was ambushed while on their way to carry out a raid in the area. The militants snatched police weapons before fleeing the scene, he said.

Encounters

Also in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, two soldiers were killed in a shoot-out with militants.

The Pakistani Taliban have for years operated in northwestern Pakistan.

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan more than a year ago has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban. The Afghan Taliban have encouraged Islamabad and the TTP to reach a deal through dialogue.