Three policemen were killed and another injured when Taliban militants attacked a police van in Pakistan's restive northwest on Thursday, officials said.
The militants lobbed grenades at the van and then fired at it with automatic weapons in Lakki Marwat area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
District police chief Gulzar Ali confirmed that three policemen were killed and another one injured.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out in retaliation for the arrests made by security forces during a recent search operation.
The attack was the latest assault in a recent spike in Taliban violence in northwest Pakistan.
Parts of the volatile tribal belt have witnessed fierce fighting in recent days.
