Gunmen kill 2 police in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants in Pakistan shot at the country’s police force in a volatile northwestern province overnight, killing two officers, officials said Tuesday.

The latest attack on police was made overnight in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. Senior police officer Islamuddin Khan said two officers were on their way on motorcycle for protection duty at a mosque during the special night prayers in the holy month of Ramadan.

Khan said the gunmen opened fire on the officers when they slowed at a turn, killing them on the spot. He said a search operation to arrest the shooters had begun.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two attacks last week in the same province that killed four officers and wounded six were claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistani Taliban is allied with but separate separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban. There has been an increase in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban since they unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the government.