Amid the resurgence of militancy in northwest Pakistan, eight security personnel were killed in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday.
The security personnel, who were killed in Lakki Marwat and Bajaur districts, included six policemen and two soldiers, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The first incident, which was claimed by outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), occurred in the Lakki Marwat's Kurrum Par area when militants opened fire on a police van, killing six personnel.
In a separate incident, two soldiers and a militant were killed in a clash near the Pak-Afghan border area in the Charmang region of the Bajaur district.
Pakistan military media wing said the security forces and militants exchanged gunfire early on Wednesday morning in the Hilal Khel area near the Afghan border. It added that a militant was killed, and weapons and ammunition were seized from him.
Terrorism continues to be one of Pakistan's foremost problems, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, as he condemned the attack on a police van in Lakki Marwat.
"Let us make no mistake. Terrorism continues to be one of Pakistan's foremost problems. Our armed forces & police have valiantly fought the scourge. No words are enough to condemn terrorists' attack on a police van in Lakki Marwat. My thoughts and prayers are with bereaved families," Sharif tweeted on Thursday.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also condemned the attack on the police personnel in Lakki Marwat. The federal minister said he sought a report from the Chief Secretary and IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of the incident.
( With inputs from ANI )
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