Death toll from bandit attack on police in Pakistan rises to 12

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll in Pakistan's deadliest bandit attack on police has risen to 12 after one of the injured officers died in a hospital in eastern Punjab province while police pursued bandits suspected of being behind the attack, officials said Friday.

Eight policemen were injured in the attack on Thursday, which involved gunfire and anti-tank grenades. It took place in the Kacha area of ​​Rahim Yar Khan district, which is known for its hideouts along the Indus river where hundreds of heavily armed bandits evade police.

Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar said police killed a bandit leader, Bashir Shar, suspected to be behind the attack, and injured five others while pursuing the gang. In a statement, Anwar said the operation against the robbers was still ongoing and would continue until the last bandit in the province was eliminated.

Senior police and government officials will attend the funerals of the slain officers later Friday.

Bandits frequently rob people travelling on highways in Punjab and elsewhere in the country. Some areas in Punjab are so dangerous that people avoid driving after sunset to avoid being robbed, although police have cleared most of the so-called “no-go areas”.

Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and executive director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, said the bandits were armed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and pistols.

“These weapons have been smuggled from Afghanistan to Pakistan in recent years and are also available to the thieves,” he told the Associated Press.

According to police, the bandits attacked the police when one of the vehicles carrying the officers broke down while driving through flooded fields. Pakistan has been hit by monsoon rains since July.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, issued statements expressing regret and describing the killed officials as martyrs.

Pakistan has experienced an increase in violence in recent years, mostly blamed on militant groups. but the death of so many police officers in an attack on an unprecedented scale.

Police said the robbers took advantage of the darkness to attack police officers. In a statement, they said “police morale is high and such cowardly actions by the robbers cannot weaken police morale.”