KARACHI, Pakistan

Militants have launched a series of attacks on security checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least five police officers and injuring eight more in the last 24 hours, police said in a statement on Thursday.

The attacks, which occurred on Wednesday night in the Peshawar, Dir, and Bannu districts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were confirmed by the provincial government.

Three police officers were killed and six others injured when their vehicle was ambushed by suspected militants in the Upper Dir district.

Two police officers were killed in separate attacks in the provincial capital of Peshawar and the Lower Dir district, while two others were injured.

Police said they prevented similar attacks in the Shangla and Bannu districts.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but security forces blamed the recent violence on the outlawed militant network Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group has long targeted regional security forces, and recent years have seen an increase in attacks.

The latest attacks took place during an ongoing military operation in the Bajaur tribal district.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur issued a separate statement condemning the recent spate of "terrorist" attacks in the province and praising the police's counterterrorism efforts.