Suicide bombing rocks Pakistan, 12 police personnel killed in deadly assault

At least 12 police personnel were killed and several others injured after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police installation in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, triggering a massive blast and a coordinated militant assault, official sources said on Sunday.

The deadly attack took place at around 8:55 pm local time on Saturday in Bannu district, a region that has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence in recent months.

According to officials quoted by Xinhua, the assault began with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) targeting the police installation, followed by quadcopter drone activity and a ground offensive launched by militants.

“The assault involved a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, followed by quadcopter drone activity and a subsequent ground attack by militants,” official sources said on condition of anonymity.

The powerful explosion caused extensive destruction to the police facility, reducing parts of the structure to rubble and trapping personnel beneath the debris.

Rescue workers, supported by heavy machinery, continued clearance and search operations through the night amid fears that additional bodies could still be buried under the collapsed structure.

Officials from the Bomb Disposal Squad estimated that between 1,200 and 1,500 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack, underlining the scale and sophistication of the operation.

A militant group identifying itself as Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP) claimed responsibility for the bombing through social media channels.

The attack comes amid an alarming escalation in militant activity across Pakistan’s northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan, where security personnel and law enforcement agencies have increasingly come under attack.

Just a day earlier, Pakistani security forces claimed to have killed five militants during two intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), four militants linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in Tank district following an intense exchange of fire.

In a separate operation in Dera Ismail Khan district, security forces killed another militant during a gun battle, the ISPR said, adding that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

The latest suicide bombing has once again exposed the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan’s tribal and border regions, where authorities continue to battle an increasingly emboldened insurgency.

With IANS inputs