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Suicide Bomber Kills 13, Including Eight Police Officers, During Protest Near Pakistan Police Station
Suicide Bomber Kills 13, Including Eight Police Officers, During Protest Near Pakistan Police Station
TERRORISM
The Nigerian Record
8/3/20262 min read
At least 13 people, including eight police officers, were killed on Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a police station during a civil society protest in Pakistan's Swat district, authorities said.
The attack occurred at a crowded intersection in Swat, located in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where demonstrators had gathered before the explosion ripped through the area, leaving dozens of others injured, according to AFP.
Swat Deputy Inspector General of Police, Fida Hussain, said the bomber had attempted to force his way into the police station but was intercepted by security personnel at the main entrance before detonating the explosives.
According to him, 22 people sustained injuries in the blast, while another body recovered from the scene is believed to be that of the suicide attacker.
"The suicide bomber attempted to enter the police station located at the intersection, but police stopped him at the main gate," Hussain said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as of the time of filing this report.
The bombing comes amid worsening insecurity in Pakistan's northwestern region, where security forces have been battling an escalating insurgency linked to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In a separate incident on Sunday, four police officers were injured after a homemade bomb exploded in Peshawar, the provincial capital. The TTP later claimed responsibility for that attack.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence in recent months, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighbouring Balochistan provinces.
On Friday, a military spokesperson disclosed that militant attacks and subsequent security operations had claimed the lives of 819 security personnel and civilians since the beginning of the year.
The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused militants of launching attacks from neighbouring Afghanistan, alleging that insurgent groups operate from across the border.
However, Afghanistan's Taliban-led government has consistently denied the allegations, insisting that Afghan territory is not being used to stage attacks against Pakistan.
The dispute has further strained relations between the two neighbouring countries, with cross-border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes targeting suspected militant hideouts inside Afghanistan.
The Taliban authorities and the United Nations previously said that dozens of civilians were killed during Pakistani airstrikes carried out in eastern Afghanistan in June, deepening tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.