A policeman and three militants were killed today in a gun battle in Pakistan's restive northwest, officials said.
Three militants riding a motorcycle lobbed grenades at a police van that was on a routine patrol near Rashkai on the Peshawar-Islamabad highway this morning.
One policeman was killed instantly, officials said.
Despite being injured, three other policemen in the van retaliated and gunned down two militants.
The third militant succumbed to his injuries later.
AK-47 assault rifles, pistols and grenades were found in the possession of the dead militants.
District police chief Mohammad Hussain told the media that the militants had fired at the van after lobbing grenades. He said police conducted a search operation in the area and cleared the highway for traffic.
In a separate development, a community police officer was killed by unidentified persons in Peshawar, the capital of the restive northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
