At least 10 killed in militants' attack on security forces in Pakistan

According to Pakistani police, militants attacked a police station in northwest Pakistan early on Monday, February 5, killing at least 10 police officers and wounding six others. Reuters reports that police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province stated that around 3 a.m. local time, militants opened fire on the police station and then entered the building. The deputy police chief in the Daraban area said, "The terrorists threw hand grenades after entering the building, causing more casualties among the police." As of the time of this report, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Reuters notes that it is still unclear whether this attack is related to the upcoming national assembly elections in Pakistan scheduled for Thursday, February 9. One national assembly election candidate was shot dead on Wednesday in another location in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On the same day, a political leader of a group was shot dead in his party's election office in Balochistan province. On Tuesday, a bombing after an election rally in Balochistan resulted in the deaths of four people, for which ISIS claimed responsibility. According to Reuters, Daraban is located in an area believed to be a base for the "Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam" party. Local media reported that Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of this "conservative religious party," traveled to Afghanistan last month to meet with the Taliban's spiritual leader, marking one of his few known meetings with foreign officials. This party has called for a delay in Pakistan's elections due to security concerns. The Pakistani army announced on Friday, February 3, that it had killed 24 militants in the troubled Balochistan province over the past three days. In its statement, the army said that four government personnel and two civilians were also killed in these attacks. Recent violence by militants in Pakistan's border regions has put officials and security forces on high alert ahead of the elections. On Tuesday, the Pakistani army announced that armed militants had attacked the Mach and Kalpur complexes in Balochistan province. Since the ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government broke down in 2022, Pakistan has witnessed an increase in attacks by Islamist militants, particularly those targeting security personnel. Recent clashes in Balochistan have resulted in the deaths of 24 militants. The UN has stated that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are aiding in carrying out terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison ahead of Pakistan's general elections. Exclusive: Senator Mohajir Hussain Syed stated that the attack on Pakistan was carried out by the IRGC and was arbitrary. Islamabad has called for an immediate investigation into the armed attack on nine Pakistani nationals in Iran, where armed individuals killed nine foreign nationals near the Iran-Pakistan border.