ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 10 police officers were killed and six others wounded in a pre-dawn militant attack Monday on a police station in northwest Pakistan, officials reported, highlighting an escalation in violence as the country approaches this week’s general elections.
The assault began around 3 a.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday) in the Draban area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, with militants initially firing sniper shots before storming the station, according to local police.
“The terrorists used hand grenades inside the building, causing additional police casualties,” Deputy Superintendent Malik Anees ul Hassan of Draban police said.
Authorities have not identified the attackers or established a connection to the election.
Violence has surged in the run-up to the election. Last Wednesday, a national assembly candidate was killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and a political leader was fatally shot in his party’s Balochistan office. A Tuesday bomb attack in Balochistan after an election rally claimed four lives. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
