PESHAWAR: Unidentified armed assailants on Monday gunned down an intelligence officer in the precincts of Sardaryab police of Charsadda district. According to police, Akbar Ali, a special branch officer, was on his way to work when armed assailants, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on him. Police said Akbar Ali was hit by four bullets and expired on the spot. Police have registered an FIR against the unidentified persons and launched a search operation to trace the culprits. The body of the deceased official was shifted to district headquarter hospital in Charsadda. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack in a short statement posted on Amaq, its affiliated news agency. “Islamic State fighters have killed a Pakistan intelligence agent in the Sardaryab region… of Pakistan,” it said, referring to the local area.