A police constable was martyred in an alleged terrorist attack on a checkpost in Mianwali in the wee hours of Sunday.

The firing incident took place at the Kundal patrolling post in Esakhel, Mianwali, falling just a kilometre from the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boundary.

Head constable Haroon Khan of the patrolling police was martyred in the firing of terrorists, while an exchange of fire between the security forces and the alleged terrorists ensued.

Two terrorists were also killed in the retaliatory fire by the police, while their associates managed to escape.

The police claimed the terrorists belonged to the Tipu group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and were identified as Zubair Nawaz and Muhammad Khan.

According to the TTP, Zubair was a brother of the TTP Lakki Marwat Emir Arshad Nawaz. He was involved in communal targeted killings among other serious crimes. Muhammad Khan, however, was even more dangerous than Zubair.

According to reports, 12 fully-equipped terrorists attacked the checkpost from two different directions. However, due to the quick response of the police force, the assailants fled from the scene in the dark of the night.

More contingents of police and rescue teams also reached the Kundal area.

The Counter-Terrorism Department and the Punjab police initiated a search operation in the area by besieging it.

According to a preliminary report of the investigation agencies, the attack on the patrolling post took place at 11:45pm and the number of terrorists ranged between 12 and 15.

The CTD and the attackers remained engaged in an exchange of fire for around four hours during which several terrorists escaped in an injured condition. The search operation following the attack last till 7:45am.

The report compiled from information gathered from the CTD, police and other institutions has been sent to the higher authorities.