At least three traffic police personnel were martyred when armed men opened fire on their mobile vehicle in Wazirabad Bazaar, District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Samad Khan said on Monday.
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ismatullah was also injured in the firing and was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment, the DPO said.
Two passers-by were also wounded in the attack, according to the police official.
The attackers fled after taking the traffic police mobile vehicle, which was later recovered from Gara Budha, the DPO said.
Police have cordoned off highways and pedestrian routes in the area as efforts continue to arrest the fleeing suspects, he added.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the firing and expressed grief over the deaths of the three traffic police personnel.
Naqvi offered condolences to the families of the martyred personnel and said the nation saluted their sacrifice.
He said the government stood with the bereaved families in their hour of grief, adding that the sacrifices of those killed in the fight against terrorism would not go in vain.
The attack came amid a series of deadly terrorist attacks targeting law enforcement personnel and civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Two days earlier, at least 13 people, including two women and a two-year-old child, were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into an anti-smuggling check post in the Darazanda area of Dera Ismail Khan, according to security sources.
The victims included Customs, Excise and Rescue officials as well as civilians, they added. At least 35 people were also injured in the attack, according to the Regional Police Officer (RPO).
Last week, an explosion targeted a mosque inside Kohat’s old Police Lines during Friday prayers, killing 22 people, including 16 police officials, and injuring 103 others.
Police and security forces subsequently launched an overnight clearance operation inside the Police Lines, during which eight militants were killed, according to the Central Police Office.
According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded 475 violence-linked fatalities during the second quarter of 2026, the highest among all provinces.
