At least three police officers are killed and another wounded after a roadside bomb strikes a patrol vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said on Wednesday.

The region, which borders Afghanistan, has experienced a renewed surge in militant attacks in recent years as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, has intensified its campaign against security forces.

District Police Officer Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada told Nukta that the blast targeted officers on routine patrol in the Panyala area of Dera Ismail Khan, a district at the edge of Pakistan’s former tribal belt. He said the device, an improvised explosive device planted along the roadside, detonated as the vehicle passed.

“There were four personnel, including the driver,” he said. “Three were killed in the blast, while one sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.”

He confirmed that Assistant Sub-Inspector Gul Alam, Constable Rafiq, and driver Sakhi Jan were among those killed. Constable Azad Shah survived.

Police and security forces cordoned off the area as a large search operation was launched to trace the attackers, Sahibzada said.

Dera Ismail Khan sits at a strategic junction near the Afghan border and several districts long affected by militancy, including North Waziristan and Tank.

The area has become one of Pakistan’s most volatile security frontlines as groups aligned with the TTP attempt to regroup and expand their presence following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan says many attacks are planned from sanctuaries across the border—an allegation Afghan Taliban authorities deny.

The district has faced a steady wave of security incidents in recent months, ranging from roadside bombings on police patrols to assaults on training facilities. Pakistani forces have conducted multiple intelligence-based operations in nearby localities such as Daraban and Maddi, killing several militants, including senior commanders, according to officials. Still, the remote terrain and porous border make it difficult to fully dismantle networks that use the region as a staging ground.

Shafi Jan, provincial special assistant for information, condemned the bombing and called the officers’ deaths “deeply saddening.” He said the provincial government remains committed to combating militancy and vowed the officers’ sacrifices “will not go in vain.”