Four police officers from the specialized Ababeel Squad were martyred and two others were injured when unknown assailants opened fire on them in Pakistan’s Bajaur district on Wednesday. The attack occurred shortly before iftar in the Nawe Kale area of Khar tehsil. The martyred officers have been identified as Yaar Zada, Daud, Imran, and Siraj. The injured are Irshad and Aziz.

According to the District Police Officer (DPO) Bajaur, Muhammad Khalid, the Ababeel Force routinely patrols markets in the region. The six officers were traveling on three motorcycles when the attackers unleashed indiscriminate gunfire.

Following the incident, police launched a search operation in Nawe Kale and surrounding areas.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has experienced a rise in cross-border terrorist activity, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan. In response to recent suicide attacks, Pakistan conducted intelligence-based strikes last Saturday targeting seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Fitna al Khawarij (FAK), its affiliates, and Daesh-Khorasan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. These airstrikes, reportedly carried out in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces, resulted in the deaths of over 80 militants, according to security sources.

Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated previously. In October 2025, clashes erupted after unprovoked attacks by the Afghan Taliban and militants on Pakistan’s border posts resulted in the deaths of over 200 militants and 23 Pakistani soldiers. Despite numerous talks, the Afghan Taliban regime’s reluctance to act against terrorist outfits has hindered the resolution of these issues.