A civilian was killed, and a police constable was injured when armed men on motorcycles opened fire on a police patrol in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, officials said.

A police official confirmed that the attack occurred in the Serai Naurang town, adding that “a gun battle between the police and the assailants erupted after the firing attack.”

The official said the bodies of the civilian and the injured cop were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in the Serai Naurang town.

The attack comes amid a worsening security situation in Lakki Marwat district, which has witnessed repeated militant assaults on police and security forces in recent years.

The area, along with neighbouring Bannu and North Waziristan, has experienced a surge in attacks attributed largely to the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with patrols, checkpoints and police stations frequently targeted.

A day ago, two people were killed, and 10 were injured in a bomb explosion in the same area. Last month, terrorists martyred a police constable in the Darga forest area of Sarai Naurang.