An attack by unknown militants at a police station has left at least ten police officers dead and several others injured as violence worsened ahead of parliamentary elections this week.

Militants opened fire on the police station with snipers at 3 a.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday), then entered the premises, according to police personnel in Pakistan's Draban region in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

PHOTO | COURTESY crime scene

"After entering the building, the terrorists used hand grenades, causing more casualties among the police," claimed Malik Anees ul Hassan, the deputy superintendent of police in Draban.

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It was unclear who was behind the attack or if it was related to the election.

A national assembly candidate was shot dead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. On the same day, another political leader was killed in his party's election headquarters in Balochistan province.

Four people were killed in Balochistan on Tuesday when a bomb exploded after an electoral rally. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.

PHOTO | COURTESY crime scene 

Draban is located in an area considered a stronghold for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party. Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman, the leader of the hardline religious party, visited Afghanistan last month to see the Taliban's highest spiritual leader, according to local media, in one of his few known encounters with foreign leaders.

The party has also advocated for a delay in Pakistan's elections due to security concerns.

Since the collapse of a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government in 2022, there has been a revival of assaults by Islamist militants in Pakistan, particularly those targeting security officers.