At least seven police officers and six militants were killed after gunmen attacked a police training centre in northwestern Pakistan, triggering a fierce firefight for hours, officials said Saturday.
It’s the latest violence to rock the area, which is the base for several armed groups, and comes as Pakistan struggles with a worsening security situation.
Friday night’s assault targeted a police training facility in Ratta Kulachi, on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan city.
Police said the attackers used heavy weapons and tried to force their way into the compound after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck at the gate.
“After the initial blast, the attackers managed to storm the facility, where about 200 recruits and their trainers were present,” Dera Ismail Khan police chief Sajjad Ahmad told The Associated Press.
The gun battle between police and militants lasted nearly six hours. Seven police personnel were killed and 13 were injured, Ahmad said.
Assailants launched the coordinated assault using heavy weapons, according to a police statement.
Officers on duty returned fire, thwarting what officials described as an attempt to cause mass casualties. The explosives-packed truck rammed into the training school’s main gate, triggering a blast that collapsed part of a boundary wall, killing a police officer.
Moments later, militants in uniform entered the compound and opened fire with automatic weapons, the statement said.
They hurled grenades and exchanged heavy fire with security forces. Police and paramilitary units later cleared the compound, killing six militants and recovering suicide vests, explosives, weapons, and ammunition, the statement added.
Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the slain officers for their bravery and sacrifice.
The banned group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, initially claimed responsibility for the assault. It later issued a second statement denying involvement. The group is allied with, but separate from, the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Kabul in 2021.
On Friday, the Pakistani army’s chief spokesman, Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, said “terrorism had surged since 2021,” particularly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan.
He told reporters at a press conference that Pakistan had carried out thousands of counterterrorism operations in recent years to neutralize the growing militant threat.
This year, until 15 September, security forces conducted over 10,000 operations, killing 970 militants, while 311 soldiers and 73 police officers were killed, he said.
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