At least three policemen were killed and six others injured when armed gunmen attacked a raiding police party during a search operation in Urmar Payan area here on Wednesday.
According to Police sources, the officers came under attack from unknown gunmen holed up in a house during a routine search, triggering a gunfight which lasted more than half an hour.
Senior official Mian Saeed said the attackers used a grenade and fired a mortar, adding that the police had fought bravely despite casualties and forced them to flee.
“One attacker was also killed while others fled the area,” he said. The attacker was said to be a proclaimed offender.
Police later recovered “mortar shells and other explosive material” from the house, he added.
However, residents of the area disputed the police claim, saying an “innocent” youth was targeted by the police during the search operation.
A number of residents led by a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ishtiaq Armarh held a protest demonstration outside the Urmar Police Station, chanting slogans against the law enforcers.
The injured were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. The police further said that a search operation was ongoing in the area to arrest the remaining attackers.