Suspected militants opened fire on a police vehicle in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing five officers before fleeing, officials said, part of a surge in violence in the region bordering Afghanistan. The attack took place in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while police were on routine patrol near an oil and gas field, said local police chief Noor Wali told The Associated Press. He said the assailants, after killing the officers, poured gasoline on the vehicle and torched it. A large police contingent cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track the attackers. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi condemned the attack. In separate statements, they said the assailants would be brought to justice and expressed condolences to the families of the killed police officers.

Full report : Suspected militants ambush police vehicle in northwest Pakistan, killing 5 officers.