A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle at the main gate of a police station in northwestern Pakistan early Tuesday, killing at least 23 soldiers and wounding 32 others, and causing parts of the building to collapse on impact, soldiers and officials said.
The suicide attack – one of the deadliest since January – led to “multiple causes,” the Pakistani military said in a statement.
It added that six militants also opened fire and a gunfight ensued for hours between them and security forces before the “terrorists” were shot dead.
Local police officials also confirmed that all six attackers were dead.
Separately, the statement said that “the army killed 27 rebels” in several operations in the same region.
The death toll from Tuesday’s attack may rise because some officers are in critical condition, authorities said.
Police officers inspect damage at the site of a bombing at a police station on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, on Dec. 12, 2023. AP
The bodies of 23 security forces killed have been transferred to hospital, Mohammad Adnan, a senior police officer told reporters.
The attack targeted the Daraban police station in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police official Kamal said.
The region is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The newly formed militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, or TJP – believed to be an offshoot of the TTP – claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying it targeted officers at the police station.
The statement also claimed 20 officers were killed. However, this could not be independently verified.
A large number of security forces from across the country are always at Daraban police station where they conduct intelligence-based operations against militants in the area with the help of local police, Khan said.
The suicide attack led to “multiple causes,” the Pakistani military said in a statement. AP
Pakistani President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and conveyed his condolences to the families of the “martyred”.
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In a statement, he said “their sacrifice will not be in vain” and such attacks should not weaken the resolve of the security forces.
Pakistan’s interim interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti, condemned the attack in a statement, calling it an act of terrorism.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has seen an increase in violence with several deadly attacks by terrorists this year.
In January, at least 101 people were killed, mostly police officers, when suicide bombers posing as policemen attacked a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The Pakistani Taliban have increased attacks on security forces since 2022.
Authorities say insurgents have grown emboldened by living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the country in 2021.
The attack targeted the Daraban police station in Dera Ismail Khan, as the bodies of 23 slain security forces were being shifted to hospital. AP
The TTP, although a separate group, is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban.
Dera Ismail Khan is located near South Waziristan, a former militant hideout.
Pakistan’s military has carried out several counter-terrorist operations there after some attacked a military-run school, killing more than 150 people, mostly schoolchildren, in 2014.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
