LAHORE, Pakistan (news agencies) — Bandits armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades ambushed a police convoy in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province Thursday, killing at least 11 officers and wounding seven others, police and officials said.
The attack happened in the Rahim Yar Khan district when the police officers were passing through a deserted area in a patrol targeting robbers who operate in the region, Punjabi police said in a statement.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militants attacks in recent years, but such a high number of police casualties in a single attack is rare. Pakistani security forces often carry out operations against bandits in the eastern Punjab and southern Sindh provinces, where they hide in rural, forested areas.
The attack was one of the deadliest on police in recent years, and it drew nationwide condemnation from the country’s leadership.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi released statements denouncing the attack, expressing sorrow and describing the slain officers as martyrs.
They prayed for the early recovery of the seven wounded officers, and ordered authorities to take immediate and effective action against the attackers.
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