At least 10 policemen were killed and six others injured as heavily armed terrorists attacked a police station in northwest Pakistan on Monday, ahead of the February 8 general elections in the country.

The incident took place at Chodwan police station in Daraban tehsil in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a senior police official in Dera Ismail Khan division said.

No outfit has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We lost 10 of our jawans, while six others were injured in the ambush carried out by heavily armed terrorists," District Police Officer Nasir Mehmood said.

The terrorists attacked the police station from all sides with grenades and heavy gunfire. The police also retaliated, but the terrorists managed to escape, police said.

The forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, while the quick response force has reached with additional force, they said.

The attack added to the security concerns surrounding the general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces which have been hit by poll violence and terror strikes in recent days.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister Arshad Hussain condemned the attack on the police station and expressed condolences to the family members of the victims.

The resolve of police against terrorism can not be deterred through such acts of cowardice, he said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.