Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police HQ

At least three policemen have been killed in northwest Pakistan when Islamist militants stormed a district police headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a police source told Reuters.

Monday's attack on the complex, which houses both the district police headquarters and a residential complex, was ongoing, the high-ranking police source said, adding that the assailants, who included suicide bombers, had been "pinned down" in the area.

Three assailants were killed by police, he added.

The source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said three policemen were killed while resisting the assault on the Police Lines of District Bannu, which borders the restive North Waziristan tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesperson for the group said.

The roads around the complex have been closed to traffic as security forces moved to neutralise the remaining attackers, the police source added.

Bannu is about 350km from Pakistan's capital Islamabad, which is under strict security lockdown due to the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday ahead of a regional leaders' meeting this week.