ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: At least 10 policemen were killed after unidentified gunmen attacked a police convoy on its way to an illegal gold mining operation in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Wednesday, officials said, in the latest incident in the militancy-hit region.

Police in KP’s Kohat district said they had launched a major operation against illegal gold mining by a nexus of Pakistani Taliban militants and criminal elements, during which gunmen attacked a police contingent in the Darbukach area of Kohat.

“A total of 10 police officers, including a deputy superintendent of police, were martyred and 11 others were wounded in the attack,” Kohat police spokesman Noman Khan told Arab News.

Noor ul Amin, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 service in Kohat, confirmed the death toll to Arab News, but put the number of injured at 10.

In a statement, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence in its northwest in recent years, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad frequently accuses Afghanistan of sheltering Pakistani Taliban and other militants, an allegation Kabul denies.

The KP province was placed under emergency rule last month owing to the spike in militant attacks.

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who currently heads the provincial administration, condemned Wednesday’s attack on police during an operation against illegal mining.

“Those involved in the attack on the police team must be brought to justice,” he said.

The provincial administration did not say since when the militants had been illegally mining gold in the district.