ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani Taliban gunmen shot and killed two policemen patrolling a residential area in Islamabad, the interior minister and police said Friday, raising fears the militants had established a presence in one of the country’s safest cities.
The attack happened Thursday night in the Shamas Colony neighborhood of the capital. Police said officers have launched search efforts to arrest the killers.
Hours after the attack, Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility. Pakistani Taliban are separate from the Afghan Taliban, but they have their base in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed condemned the attack and ordered a probe.
In a video statement, he said such attacks were increasing and efforts were underway to make Islamabad a “safe zone.” The capital shares a border with the populous Punjab province, as well as the country’s northwest passage to Afghanistan.
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