Insurgent fighters attacked natural gas and oil production facilities in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least six people, including four policemen and two private guards, according to police.
The attack took place at facilities run by MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company, a unit of Hungary’s MOL, in the Hangu district near the Afghanistan border, police official Irfan Khan said.
According to Pakistani police, at least 50 Islamist militants stormed the site, killing four police officers and two security guards of the company.
Hungary’s MOL company is responsible for the gas and oil extraction contract in this area. The company says that none of its employees were present at the time of the attack.
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, resulting in the death of six people.
After the outlawed TTP ended its unilateral ceasefire with the Pakistani government in November last year, the insurgent group intensified its attack across the country, mainly targeting security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and border regions with Afghanistan.
Pakistani authorities claim that TTP leaders have hideouts on Afghanistan soil and launch attacks against Pakistan.
On the contrary, the Afghan Taliban government considers the conflict between the TTP and the Pakistani government to be an internal issue of Pakistan and rejects the claim of playing any role in the increasing attacks of militants on security forces and government facilities of Pakistan.
