Roadside bomb targeting police vehicle kills 6 officers in northwest Pakistan

A roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed six officers in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border on Monday, police said, underscoring a surge in militant violence in the region.

The blast struck in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police chief Pervez Shah said. The dead included a local police chief, Ishaq Ahmad, who was on routine patrol at the time of the attack. Shah provided no further details, saying an investigation was underway.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and paid tribute to the killed officers. In a statement, he offered his condolences to the families of the victims, saying the officers had “sacrificed their lives for the nation’s peace and that their sacrifices would not be forgotten.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility. Suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has intensified attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months.

Read more: ABC News