HANGU, KPK: Three police officers, including a Superintendent of Police (SP), were martyred on Friday as back-to-back explosions struck the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials confirmed.
According to KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed, the first explosion targeted a police checkpost in the Baliamina police station limits. The checkpost, he said, was usually unoccupied and used occasionally by officers during search operations.
Moments after the initial blast, a second, more powerful explosion — caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) — struck near a police vehicle heading to the site. Three officers, including SP (Operations) Asad Zubair, were martyred in the attack.
Kohat division’s Regional Police Officer (RPO) Abbas Majeed told reporters that police had been on high alert in Hangu and neighboring districts throughout the day. He said the first blast occurred at around 2 p.m., followed shortly by the deadly second explosion as SP Zubair and his team arrived to inspect the scene.
“The second device was planted to target the responding officers. It was a powerful IED, set off as their vehicle approached the checkpost,” RPO Majeed said, adding that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), referred to by officials as *Fitna-al-Khawarij*, was suspected of involvement.
Following the attack, a large-scale search operation was launched in the area.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi strongly condemned the incident, calling it “a cowardly act aimed at destabilising peace.” He directed the IGP to submit an immediate report and convened an emergency meeting of the provincial apex committee on law and order.
“The sacrifices of our martyred heroes will not go in vain,” the CM stated, pledging to bring those responsible to justice.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and former KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur also paid tribute to the slain officers, expressing condolences to their families and reaffirming support for the province’s police force.
The attack comes amid a surge in militant activity across KP and Balochistan following the TTP’s withdrawal from a ceasefire in late 2022.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more details emerge.
