DSP Gul Muhammad and Constable Nadeem Gul had set up a temporary checkpoint at the Manjiwala Chowk near the Indus Highway when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle, killing both, according to Bannu police spokesperson Bashir Khan.
The bodies were shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in the Sarai Naurang district of Lakki Marwat.
That same night, in a separate incident in the Sara Darga district of Lakki Marwat, Constable Sanamat Khan was martyred when unknown assailants opened fire at him near his house. He was stationed in Miranshah, North Waziristan and had returned home on leave.
The assailants in both incidents are at large.
On Saturday morning, funeral prayers for the martyred police officials were held with official honours at Iqbal Shaheed Police Line in Bannu.
District Police Officer (DPO) Bannu Ziauddin Ahmed, DPO Lakki Marwat Taimur Khan, SP Operation Bannu Sanaullah and army officers laid flower wreaths on the coffins of the martyred and prayed for them.
DPO Ahmed praised the martyrs as being brave, dutiful and noble, adding that the Bannu police stand with the bereaved families in their hour of grief.
“We are proud of such young people who died fighting bravely,” he said.
“The blood of the martyrs will not go in vain,” DPO Ahmed said, adding that “terrorists will not demoralise us with cowardly acts.”
DPO Khan said police forces have, in the past, sacrificed their lives for the country, which the entire nation values.
The attacks are the latest in a series of incidents targeting police officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On Tuesday, six policemen were injured when unknown miscreants attacked them in the Township area of Bannu.
In March, two traffic police constables were martyred when unknown motorcyclists opened fire on them in Darra Pezu town in Lakki Marwat.
Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district and killed eight suspected terrorists, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday.
“During the conduct of the operation, after an intense fire exchange, eight terrorists were killed,” it read.
The ISPR statement said: “The killed terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and target killing of innocent civilians. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from killed terrorists.”
ISPR stated that a “sanitisation operation” was under way to eliminate other terrorists in the area, adding,: “Security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.” “Locals of the area appreciated the operation.”
Two soldiers were martyred after a suicide bomber struck a military convoy on Tank Road in the same district a fortnight ago. Police said the attack also injured at least 22 personnel.
According to a police report, the convoy was on its way to Tank from Dera Ismail Khan when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the convoy, resulting in the martyrdom of two soldiers on the spot and injuries to almost two dozen others.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his unwavering commitment to wiping out terrorism. According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, the premier said the war against terrorism would continue until the menace was completely eradicated from the country.
