Four police shot dead in Pakistan

Policemen are often targeted by militants in Pakistan

At least four policemen have been killed in an attack by suspected militants in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, police say.

They say the attackers fired bursts from automatic weapons on a police van, and then set it on fire.

Attacks on security personnel continue despite reports of peace talks between the government and militants.

Observers say local groups have been staging such attacks to avenge the killing or arrest of their comrades.

Police and witnesses told the BBC Urdu service that the police patrol came under attack at about midnight on Sunday in the southern suburbs of Peshawar, the capital of NWFP.

Four policemen were killed but their team leader, Station House Officer Haji Gulab Khan, survived with injuries.

It is not clear how he evaded detection by the militants who left the scene only after the police van had been set on fire.