At least 11 police officers have been killed during an ambush by armed attackers in eastern Pakistan, according to local officials.
The attackers were armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), police said, and seven other officers were injured.
The convoy of officers was targeted in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, in the Rahim Yar Khan district.
The convoy was passing through a deserted area as part of an operation targeting robbers in the region, Punjabi police said in a statement.
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Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks by militants 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.
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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.
