Four Pakistani policemen, including a senior officer, were killed and several were wounded in a roadside bomb attack as they were rushing to rescue colleagues besieged by militants in a police station in northwestern Pakistan late on March 29, authorities said.
Gunmen attacked a police station in the district of Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, close to the North Waziristan tribal region, and an intense firefight ensued, district police spokesman Shahid Khan told RFE/RL.
A police team led by deputy superintendent Iqbal Mohmand rushed to the aid of their colleagues but their armored personnel carrier was blown up by a remote-controlled bomb planted by the side of the road some 3 kilometers before reaching their destination.
Four police officers, including Mohmand, were killed and six were wounded in the explosion, Khan said.
The banned Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for both the roadside bomb blast and the attack on the police station.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack.
"Our police officers have made unforgettable sacrifices in the war against terrorism," Sharif said in a statement.
Momand was also a well-known poet who wrote in Pashto.
The TTP in November ended a monthslong cease-fire with the government following more than a year of inconclusive peace talks.
The TTP claimed that promises made during the negotiations had not been fulfilled and announced the resumption of attacks.
The announcement was followed by a wave of deadly attacks targeting Pakistani security forces.
North Waziristan was once the stronghold of the TTP. However, the Pakistani military conducted a massive operation in mid-2014 to expel the militants.
The TTP commanders have reportedly taken refuge across the border in Afghanistan, triggering protests by authorities in Islamabad against Kabul's Taliban rulers.