Militants kill police officer in northwestern Pakistan

Militants riding on motorcycles have shot and killed a junior Pakistani police officer in the country’s northwest, local security sources say.

Police chief Abdul Rahman said the Wednesday shooting attack was carried out in the town of Bannu, which is located about 250 kilometers south of the main city of Peshawar.

The slain officer was passing through a bazaar on his motorcycle when the assailants targeted him. The attackers managed to flee before the arrival of security forces.

The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the assault.

In recent years, the Pakistani military has carried out several offensives against militants in Bannu and elsewhere but the violence has continued unabated. The town is also near the North Waziristan tribal region.

Back in June 2014, the army launched a full-scale offensive in North Waziristan aimed at wiping out militant bases in the highly volatile and mountainous tribal region.

Pakistani troops have for over a decade been battling militants to curb insurgencies by the terrorist groups of Taliban and al-Qaeda.

SS