Police say heavy exchange of fire erupts at office of security forces in northwest Pakistan

Police say exchange of fire erupts in NW Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A heavy exchange of fire erupted Saturday at an office of security forces in northwest Pakistan, but the motive behind the attack was not immediately clear, police said.

Police official Dost Mohammed said it was unclear who fired at the office of the security forces in Peshawar, the capital of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where militants often target police and security forces. Troops immediately surrounded the area were responding to the attack, he said.

The area where the incident happened is located near the American Consulate, but police said that building was not the target of the attack. TV footage showed commandos and police surrounding the consulate and checking vehicles.

The firing began at about 6 a.m. and was continuing after small intervals, Mohammed said.

The building that came under attack belonged to an army intelligence agency, and captured terror suspects were being questioned there at the time of the shooting, two other local police officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

The shooting began hours after suspected U.S. missiles struck two vehicles carrying militants in northwest Pakistan and killed four of them.

The overnight missile attack happened in the troubled Kurram tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The slain men were from Taliban’s Haqqani network, which is blamed for launching attacks across the border against the American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, two intelligence officials said.

Although the CIA has repeatedly targeted militant positions in Pakistan’s tribal regions, such strikes in Kurram are rare.