The attack happened at the University of Peshawar where police had taken the detainees from the northwestern city’s central jail.
“They were taken to hospital for a dental check-up. The gunmen fired at them when they returned from the hospital,” Peshawar police chief Imtiaz Altaf said.
“The prisoners were arrested under terrorism charges. The gunmen came on two motorcycles and a car, and escaped with them after killing three policemen and injuring one,” said police official Mohammed Ijaz.
Peshawar, a metropolis of 2.5 million people has repeatedly been targeted by Taliban insurgents. It borders Pakistan’s tribal belt that the United States calls the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda.
A female suicide attacker and a separate handcart bomb also targeted police in the city, killing seven people.
The attacks were the first deadly attacks on the northwest during the month of Ramazan.
