ISLAMABAD

At least four members of a local peace committee were killed in a suspected militant attack in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, officials said.

The incident occurred in Bannu district when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a vehicle in the Gulbadin Landi Dak area, a police official at the Bannu district police control room told Anadolu by phone.

“Four people traveling in the car were killed in the attack,” the official said, adding that two of the victims were identified as a father and son.

The official said the attack appeared to be militant in nature, noting that peace committee members in the area have been targeted repeatedly in the past by militants.

Peace committees are local groups that assist security forces in maintaining peace and opposing extremism.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the assault.

“Cowardly acts of militants cannot shake the nation’s firm resolve against terrorism. The nation stands united to defeat the evil designs of these militants,” Naqvi said in a statement.

The attack comes amid a surge in violence in the region.

On Monday, at least seven policemen, including an officer, were killed in two separate bomb explosions in the Tank and Lakki Marwat districts near Bannu.

Last November, at least seven peace committee members were killed in Bannu, when their office was attacked in a similar incident.