The death toll from a suicide attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan has risen to 14 police officers, authorities have reported. A self-proclaimed breakaway group of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.
A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a security post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, late Saturday, senior police official Sajjad Khan told AP.
The attack triggered an intense shootout, with some officers killed instantly in the exchange while others died later after the building collapsed. Rescuers conducted an hours-long search operation using heavy machinery to retrieve bodies from under the rubble, Khan said. Three police officers were wounded in the attack.
Security forces have launched an operation to track down the perpetrators.
Who claimed responsibility
A newly formed militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to reporters. While the group claims it was formed by splinter factions of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), authorities have accused it of being a front for the TTP.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP — a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Cross-border tensions persist
Islamabad frequently accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of providing sanctuary to the TTP, a claim Kabul denies. Tensions between the two neighbors have persisted, and both sides have engaged in fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February.
In early April, Afghan and Pakistani officials held peace talks mediated by China. However, despite the negotiations, sporadic cross-border clashes have continued, though at a lower intensity than before.
