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Militants detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan and opened fire on police, killing at least 12 officers and wounding five others, Pakistani officials said Sunday.
“Last night in the Fateh Khel area of Bannu, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police checkpoint, after which multiple militants entered the post,” Bannu police official Muhammad Sajjad Khan told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He said 12 officers were confirmed dead, while one officer remained missing following the assault in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Gunmen stormed the checkpoint after the explosion and opened fire, according to officials, who added that the attackers also used small drones during the assault.
“During the assault, the militants used quadcopters along with heavy weaponry,” a senior administrative official in Bannu told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“In addition, while retreating, the attackers took police personnel and weapons from the station with them,” the official added.
Bannu has experienced increasing militant violence in recent years as attacks intensified across Pakistan’s border regions.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration in Afghanistan of allowing militants to use Afghan territory as a safe haven, an allegation Kabul denies.
The tensions have contributed to worsening relations between the two countries, including Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan in recent months.
Armed attacks in Pakistan are concentrated particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both bordering Afghanistan.
Groups claiming to defend the rights of Pashtun and Baloch ethnic communities frequently target Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Islamabad says the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operates from bases in Afghanistan and coordinates attacks from there, while Afghan authorities reject the accusations.
In Balochistan, attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have become increasingly prominent. The separatist group seeks independence for Balochistan and demands self-rule for the Baloch people.
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