7 killed as militants ambush police van in Peshawar

The dead include five police officials and two civilians.

PESHAWAR:

At least seven people, including five policemen, were killed when militants ambushed a police mobile van and a car on Kohat Road in the jurisdiction of Badhaber police station Monday night.

A police official told The Express Tribune that the militants ambushed a police van in the Ghaz Stop area, leaving two policemen injured. The wounded then called for help on their wireless sets.

When Sub-Inspector Aslam Khan, the in-charge of the Zangali check post, reached the area to evacuate the injured policemen in his car, the militants attacked their vehicle, killing all five men on the spot.

“Five policemen, including SI Aslam Khan, were killed in the attack. Some civilian vehicles on the road were also hit, killing or injuring some people,” he said, adding that the attackers were still present on both sides of the road after the deadly ambush. “I can see two men dead inside private cars,” he said.

“The attackers had taken positions at different locations along the main road. They attacked the police patrol at three different locations,” the police official said. A heavy contingent of police was sent to the area to launch a search operation but police said it was difficult in the darkness to search for the militants.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2014.