According to the police, the blast occurred as the personnel were en route to the Saddar cop shoppe, where coppers were fending off an attack under way.
"The DSP, along with a heavy contingent, left for the cop shoppe after he received information regarding a terrorist attack there.
"On the way, near the Pirwala turn, an IED blast occurred in which DSP Iqbal Momand and constables Ali Marjan, Waqar and Karamatullah were martyred," it added.
Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed told Dawn.com that murderous Moslems shot up the Saddar cop shoppe in the early hours today. Resultantly, an exchange of fire took place between the police and the terrorists.
During the shootout, six coppers were maimed, he said. The maimed men, identified as Head Constable Farooq Shah and constables Amanatullah, Asghar, Sardar Ali and Arif have been moved to the Lakki City Hospital.
A police statement also revealed that the bully boyz were equipped with advanced and heavy weaponry. "The police were on alert and the attackers had to flee when the police returned fire."
The murderous Moslems fled while taking advantage of the darkness, it added.
Later, funerals of the slain coppers were offered at the Police Line, which was attended by senior coppers.
The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...Pakistain (TTP) claimed the attack in a statement.
Talking to Dawn.com, former chief of the National Counter Terrorism Authority, Ihsan Ghani, said that the police are a "soft target" for gangs.
Ghani, who has also served as chief of the KP police, said that police routinely come under attack as they are on the streets and perform duties anywhere. "We are now alone in the war on terrorism," he added.