Islamabad, December 21 (NationPress) - A police vehicle came under attack from assailants near an Afghan refugee camp located on Kohat Road within the Bannu district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This incident has prompted authorities to initiate an evacuation of the settlement for security reasons, as reported by local media on Sunday.

The assault occurred during the transit of Deputy Superintendent of Police Mufeez Khan from Township to Domel. According to officials, the attackers, who were concealed near the camp, opened fire on his vehicle in what was described as a calculated ambush, as per reports from The Express Tribune. In retaliation, police personnel fired back at the assailants, who, however, managed to escape.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported in this episode, despite the police vehicle sustaining some damage. Following the attack, law enforcement cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the culprits.

According to district administration officials, approximately 2,567 individuals resided in the Afghan refugee camp. Prior to the attack on Saturday, 1,700 of these individuals had already been deported to Afghanistan. In the aftermath of the assault, another 120 individuals from 20 families were sent back to Afghanistan. Authorities have mobilized heavy machinery to dismantle structures within the camp as part of the evacuation process.

Earlier, on December 8, a police officer was wounded when assailants targeted a police station in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Local media reported that the Ahmadzai police station was struck by sniper fire, according to a police officer's statement. On December 3, three police personnel, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), lost their lives in a blast aimed at a police vehicle in the Dera Ismail Khan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as reported by district police spokesperson Yaqoob Zulqarnain.

Zulqarnain indicated that an improvised explosive device was employed to execute the blast in the Paniyala area, as reported by Dawn. The police spokesperson confirmed that ASI Gul Alam, Constable Rafiq, and the driver of the mobile van, Sakhi Jan, were killed in the attack, although another constable accompanying them was unharmed.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant activities over the past year, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the conclusion of a ceasefire by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with the government in November 2022.