Suspected militants shot dead three policemen who went missing during an overnight search in Malakand district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place in the mountainous town of Ailam, where Taliban terrorists are active.
“Last night militants fired at a police patrol vehicle, followed by a search operation during which four policemen went missing,” senior police official Asif Iqbal told reporters. Police found the bullet-riddled bodies of three officers on Wednesday morning, he added. A police station chief was wounded.
On December 8, unidentified gunmen shot dead two policemen who were on their way to protect a polio vaccination team in the neighbouring town of Buner. The area where the latest killings took place is close to the Swat Valley.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack.
