Heavily-armed Pakistani Taliban militants opened fire at a police station in Mianwali in Pakistan's Punjab province, days after a member of the dreaded outfit blew himself up inside a mosque in Peshawar that killed over 100 people.
District Police Officer Mianwali Muhammad Naveed said around 20 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants armed with automatic weapons attacked the Makerwal police station on Tuesday night but were repulsed by the law enforcement agency, according to Geo TV. The latest incident assumes significance because TTP, which hitherto targeted police stations and check posts in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, has now trained its guns in Punjab province.
According to social media reports, the attack started at around 9 pm on Tuesday after militants opened heavy fire at Makerwal police station using automatic weapons.
This resulted in a heavy exchange of retaliatory fire by the police that lasted for more than two hours, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Punjab Inspector GenÂeral of Police Dr Usman Anwar said the militants belonged to the TTP, the report said.
Makerwal in the Isakhel tehsil is a mostly hilly area known for coal mines.
A law enforcement official said a search operation was intensified after police teams failed to nab the militants who managed to flee by taking advantage of the inaccessible terrain.