BAJAUR(National Times)- A police constable was martyred after unidentified assailants opened fire on him in Bajaur district on Friday afternoon.

Police officials and residents said the incident occurred in Inayat Kallay Bazaar of Khar tehsil.

Rahmatullah was going to his home in Laghari area of Lowi Mamund tehsil after duty at Police Lines, Khar, when unknown attackers targeted him with automatic weapons near the bus stand in Inayat Kallay Bazaar, said Mansoor Khan, the spokesperson for the police.

He told Dawn that the 34-year-old was critically injured in the attack and died while being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar.

An official of the police post in Inayat Kallay Bazaar told this correspondent that a team rushed to the scene and launched efforts to trace the attackers, who fled after the attack.

The official added that an investigation had been launched to ascertain the motive and identify those involved.

No group has claimed responsibility for the killing, which occurred two days after the killing of an elder, Malik Mazroof Khan, in War Mamund tehsil on Wednesday night.

Sources in police said attacks on police had increased over the past couple of years.

They said Friday’s killing of the police constable was the third murder of a policeman in Bajaur over the past week.