A “key terrorist” was killed and a police constable martyred in the early hours of Sunday when gunmen attacked a police checkpost in the Shahbaz Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat District, a local police official said.

“The terrorists attacked the police [checkpost] with heavy and automatic weapons and tried to break in,” Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed told Dawn.com, adding that RPG-7s, grenades and other “advanced weapons” were used.

“The attack was thwarted by the timely action of the police,” the spokesperson said.

Hameed identified the martyred policeman as of Constable Tehsinullah of the Rapid Response Force.

“A key terrorist was killed during the police’s retaliatory action,” the spokesperson said, identifying him as Owais Abdulkhel. Weapons were recovered from his possession.

The suspect was wanted by the CTD (Counter Terrorism Department) Bannu for being allegedly involved in attacks on police and security forces, Hameed said.

A police search operation is underway in the area.

The martyred police constable’s funeral prayers were offered at the office of the Lakki Marwat district police officer on Sunday morning, where they were attended by police and army officials.

The attack comes in the wake of a recent uptick in terrorist attacks across the country after the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its months-long ceasefire with the government.

Recent weeks have seen a resurgence of militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the southern belt and merged districts, with increasing intensity of attacks on law enforcement personnel.

Most recently, a policeman was martyred and at least six people — including four police officers and two civilians — were injured in a suicide blast in Islamabad’s I-10/4 sector last week. The attack was claimed by the TTP.

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On Nov 16, 2022, six police personnel were reported to have been killed in what was described as a terror attack in Lakki Marwat after a police mobile patrol came under gunfire.