Four militants were killed after police successfully repelled an armed attack on the Kingar Pul police checkpoint in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials said on Saturday.
According to a press release issued by Bannu police, heavily armed militants launched an assault on the checkpoint around midnight on Friday, using modern weapons in an attempt to overwhelm the personnel stationed there.
Police officers deployed at the checkpoint responded immediately, engaging the attackers and preventing them from breaching the security position.
The police statement praised the personnel for demonstrating courage and professional competence while repelling the assault.
Following reports of the attack, reinforcements from the Quick Response Force (QRF), Rapid Response Force (RRF) and Bannu Police Lines were dispatched to the scene.
The additional personnel swiftly reached the checkpoint, secured the surrounding area and established a cordon to prevent the attackers from escaping or regrouping.
Police subsequently launched a clearance and search operation in the area to locate the assailants and recover weapons and other material.
During the operation, the bodies of four militants were recovered, along with a substantial quantity of arms and ammunition.
According to the police, the recovered weapons included four Kalashnikov rifles, several magazines, a large quantity of ammunition, hand grenades and bandoliers.
Authorities said efforts were underway to establish the identities of the four militants killed during the encounter.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed commended the Bannu police personnel for their response and for preventing the attackers from overrunning the checkpoint.
He praised the officers for successfully thwarting what police described as an attack carried out by militants associated with Fitna al-Khawarij.
The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by Pakistani authorities to refer to militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The incident comes amid continuing security challenges in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where police and other law enforcement personnel have faced repeated attacks by militant groups.
The latest encounter highlights the security threats confronting police personnel stationed at checkpoints in vulnerable districts of the province.
Police said the clearance operation resulted in the recovery of weapons and ammunition, while the identification process for the killed militants remained ongoing.