Pakistani security personnel stand guard outside the Supreme Court building during a hearing in Islamabad on Jan. 19, 2012.
A security checkpoint in the northwestern Pakistani city of Bannu was attacked by militants early today, sparking a gunbattle that killed at least one police officer, local officials told Agence-France Press.
Local police chief Waqar Ahmed said there was an "exchange of fire" between police and a group of some half-dozen militants who assaulted the police intelligence building there with gunfire and grenades, said AFP.
More from GlobalPost: Ahmed Khan Samangani, prominent MP, killed in Afghanistan wedding attack
Army soldiers were called into the city, which lies in the country's restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, in order to help local forces, which have surrounded the building, according to PTI news agency.
Authorities have imposed a curfew, said AFP.
Nearly 400 prisoners escaped a Bannu detainment center in an April jailbreak led by the extremist Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, said PTI.
Violence is relatively common in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, considered a haven of militant activity and a crossing point for insurgents traveling between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.
We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!