Six Police Killed In Militant Ambush In Northwest Pakistan

Armed militants have killed six police officers in an ambush in northwestern Pakistan, officials say.

Regional police spokesman Shahid Hameed told RFE/RL that the ambush was carried out in Shahab Khel area of Lakki Marwat district early on November 16.

Hameed said the police vehicle was on a routine patrol when it came under attack. The attackers escaped on motorcycles.

The outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lakki Marwat is in the restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province that has seen Islamic militants from TTP active in the area for many years.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but they are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan more than a year ago as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout.

With reporting by AP