ISTANBUL / ISLAMABAD

Five policemen and eight terrorists were killed in clashes in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, officials said.

Five policemen were killed after their vehicle came under a terror attack in the Karak district of the province, according to a statement by Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Condemning the attack, Naqvi said: "Attack on security personnel is a clear act of barbarity by brutal elements."

"The sacrifices of the martyrs will not go in vain; the state will respond with full force," he added.

Eight terrorists were killed in a search operation launched after the attack, local Dawn newspaper reported, citing district police spokesman Shaukat Khan.

A large number of security personnel have been deployed in the area to search for the terrorists.