PESHAWAR - Unidentified gunmen on a motorbike shot dead an anti-terror police officer in Peshawar on Saturday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Riazul Islam was targeted at Charsadda Road when he and his son were on their way home after offering evening prayers in a nearby mosque at Madina Colony.
Riazul Islam, who earlier survived two similar life attempts, received three bullets in the attack. He was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way. His son Fayyaz was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
Zulfiqar Ali Babakhel, a spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital, said doctors working to save the son’s life.
CCPO Tahir Khan said Riazul Islam had survived two bomb attacks in the past three years, in one of which he was severely wounded. The attackers, who were reportedly two, left the scene after committing the crime, he added.
Following the incident, the police reached the crime scene and cordoned off the area and launched a search operation; however, no arrest was made till filing of this report.
No group has yet claimed responsiblity for the attack.
The country has been battling a militancy since shortly after it decided to ally with the US following its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Violence has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives in the northwest border areas as well as concerted efforts to block the militants’ sources of funding. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest.
