The death toll in a rocket launcher attack by riverine dacoits on policemen whose vehicle broke down in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan rose to 12 on Friday, police said.

Organised criminal gangs have been active in the riverine border areas of southern Sindh and central Punjab provinces for decades, often making money through kidnap-for-ransom assaults.

“At least twelve policemen were martyred, and eight others injured in the attack,” police spokesperson Saif Ali Wains told AFP.

Two police vehicles carrying around 22 policemen were travelling through Rahim Yar Khan district’s Machka on Thursday evening, when one of the vans broke down in low-level flooding. The dacoits surrounded the stranded officers and opened fire.

Wains said the gang then used rocket launchers to target the stranded officers.

A police statement on Friday said that the main culprit behind the bloody attack was killed in an overnight operation.

“The operation will continue until the perpetrators are eliminated,” the statement said.

This incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in combating the threat of dacoits, particularly in the riverine areas of the region.

They had established a camp in Machika to monitor the movement of dacoits. The officers were returning from their duty when they were ambushed by around 25 armed dacoits.

A large contingent of police from across the district was mobilised to the crime scene, led by District Police Officer Imran.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the “martyrdom of the 11 police officers.” He paid tribute to the slain police officers.

The Punjab IGP and the Rahim Yar Khan additional IGP rushed to the site of the attack.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed the home secretary to “immediately” reach the troubled area.

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“The perpetrators of the attack on the police will be brought to justice,” she said.

In the wake of the Rahim Yar Khan attack, the Sindh Police has been put on high alert. Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar has issued directives to the Sindh IGP in this regard.

The Sindh home minister condemned the terrorist attack on the Punjab police convoy, stating that the martyrdom of police officers “cannot dampen the spirits of the officers and personnel.” He prayed that Allah may elevate the ranks of the martyrs and grant patience to their families.

The military launched a full-scale operation against criminal gangs in Sindh in the early 1990s but they resurfaced after successive governments failed to maintain law and order in the province.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered “immediate and effective action” against the attackers, his office said in a statement on Thursday.