PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Unidentified gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying officials from the customs department in troubled northwest Pakistan on Thursday evening, killing four of them before fleeing the scene, police said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack which happened in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police official Nasir Khan said.
The motive behind the attack wasn’t immediately clear.
Khan said police transported the bodies of the slain officers to a hospital and officers were still investigating.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. It’s a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then and TTP often claims such attacks on security forces and other officials.
Meet TikTok's NEWEST queen bee Leah Halton: Stunning Australian model, 23, is set to become the most
Indebtedness affects 76.6% of Brazilian families
Evergrande shares suspended from trading as liquidation concerns mount
J.K. Dobbins signs with Chargers, continuing the trend of former Ravens heading to LA
Government is relying on executive power to govern – that's not how MMP was meant to work
2023 In Pictures: A year of post
Good News: Stories that cheered us up for the week of 1
VOX POPULI: Spring is the best season for those who have a taste for wild plants
Woman, 26, who shed 70lbs reveals the surprising ways weight loss has transformed her life
Missing Chinese exchange student found cold and scared in Utah