PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Officials confirmed Sunday that fourteen police officers lost their lives in a coordinated assault on a security station in Pakistan’s northwest region. A militant organization identifying itself as a breakaway Taliban faction has taken credit for the deadly incident.
The attack occurred late Saturday evening in Bannu district, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border, according to senior police official Sajjad Khan. Armed attackers detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at the security facility, sparking a prolonged gun battle. Some officers perished during the firefight, while others were killed when the station building subsequently collapsed.
Emergency teams worked through the night using heavy equipment to recover victims trapped beneath the debris, Khan reported. Three additional officers sustained injuries in the assault.
Law enforcement agencies have initiated a manhunt to capture those responsible for the attack.
The militant organization Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan issued a statement to media outlets claiming responsibility. Though this group asserts it consists of former members of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, government officials believe it operates as a cover organization for the TTP.
The country has experienced an uptick in extremist violence recently, with much of the activity attributed to the TTP. This organization maintains ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, which regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistani leadership frequently alleges that Afghanistan’s current government harbors TTP militants, accusations that Kabul consistently rejects.
Relations between the neighboring countries remain strained, with both nations engaging in border conflicts that have resulted in hundreds of casualties since late February.
Chinese mediators facilitated discussions between Afghan and Pakistani representatives in early April. Despite these diplomatic efforts, intermittent border skirmishes persist, though with reduced frequency compared to previous months.
