Police officer among 3 martyred in late-night attack on police station in Peshawar.

A senior police officer and two of his guards lost their lives giving chase to militants who staged a late-night attack on a police station on the outskirts of Peshawar, a senior official said on Saturday.

Senior Superintendent Police Operations Peshawar Kashif Abbasi told Dawn.com that Deputy Superintendent Police Sardar Hussain and his two police guards lost their lives in an exchange fire with terrorists in the Badhabir area.

The two martyred policemen were identified as Irshad and Jehanzeb.

Abbasi told reporters that the terrorists attacked Sarband police station at about midnight. Sarband is located near the Bara area of Khyber tribal district.

'It was coordinated from multiple directions and the [terrorists] used multiple weapons. They lobbed hand grenades and resorted to sniper shots and automatic guns,' he said.

The Peshawar police successfully repelled the attack, he added.

The police station that came under terrorist attack in Peshawar in wee hours of Saturday. - DawnNewsTV

Abbasi said the slain police officer chased the fleeing terrorists and tried to encircle them but during an ensuing exchange of fire, he and two other policemen lost their lives.

The gunmen then took advantage of the darkness and fled.

Police said a search operation was launched in Sarband and nearby areas following the attack. It resumed on Saturday morning. No arrest was made so far.

Abbasi said the gunmen had come from the Khyber Tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

A funeral was held for the martyred police officials at Malik Saad Shaheed Police Line in Peshawar on Saturday morning.

It was attended by senior police and military officials while the police force offered a salute to the martyrs.

Meanwhile, the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the attack.

TTP has stepped up attacks since the group called off the ceasefire in November which was agreed with the government in June and ordered its militants to stage attacks across the country.

Federal govt concerned

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the federal government was 'seriously concerned' over the 'worsening law and order situation' in KP.

Highlighting 'terrorists are attacking police stations [and] policemen and officers are being targeted', he criticised the KP government for 'not...