At least 12 policemen were killed and a dozen others
injured in an attack Saturday afternoon at a police station in
northwest Pakistan, reported local Urdu TV channel.
All the police held hostage by the attackers inside
the police station were rescued after nearly five hours of crossfire
between the security forces and the attackers, said the report.
According to the local media reports, five out of an
estimated 10 to 12 attackers were also killed in the crossfire while
the remaining militants managed to run away.
Three of the attackers were killed by police while
the other two blew themselves up. The three attackers killed include
one woman and two of them were of foreign nationality.
The security forces have taken control of the police station and a search operation is underway.
The attack took place at about 4:30 p.m. local time
Saturday afternoon at a police station in the Kulachi area of Dera
Ismail Khan in northwest Pakistan. Kulachi is a small town, some 30
kilometers east of the militancy-plagued South Waziristan.
Eyewitnesses said that handgrenade blasts and firing
were heard shortly after two men and one woman with veil over her face
entered the police station.
At initial stage at least six police were reportedly killed in the shootout.
Over 100 security personnel stationed nearby were
called in after the attack was reported. However, the security forces
reaching the site were unable to enter the police station as some
20-plus policemen were feared held hostage by the attackers inside the
building.
Three blasts were heard when the security forces backed by armored vehicles tried to storm into the police station.
Several police vehicles were reportedly destroyed in
the fight. Two policemen held hostage by the attackers were rescued
during the crossfire.
It is not known how the remaining attackers have
managed to flee the police station which was entirely surrounded by the
security forces. Some local media reports said the number of attackers
involved in the incident is much less than reported.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack yet. Xinhua
