PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Armed men ambushed and kidnapped a senior judge in Pakistan’s restive northwest, a police official said Sunday.

Around 15 men on motorbikes intercepted Judge Shakirullah Marwat’s vehicle as he was travelling toward Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said police official Faheem Khan. The assailants set the car on fire before fleeing with him. The driver was not harmed, Khan said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday evening’s assault, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, who made the province their stronghold.

It’s unusual for militants in the northwest to target a judge of Marwat’s seniority, who normally travels with tight security. The militants have generally attacked security personnel or infrastructure.

Khan said a search operation had been launched for the judge and a counter-terrorism team had joined the investigation.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the TTP, since the group unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the central government in November 2022.

Last weekend, gunmen opened fire at customs officials, killing two and wounding three others in Dera Ismail Khan.