At least 15 people were killed after militants detonated a vehicle-borne bomb at a police checkpoint in Bannu, in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and then opened fire on officers, authorities said.
The attack occurred late Saturday in the Fateh Khel area. Photographs from the scene showed the checkpoint in ruins, with bricks, charred debris and mangled vehicles scattered around.
“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 said. He said more than 100 militants took part in the operation.
An officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said reinforcements sent to assist the police were ambushed by the attackers, contributing to the casualties. A senior administrative official in Bannu told AFP that the militants used quadcopters alongside heavy weapons during the assault. The official added that, while retreating, the attackers took police personnel and weapons from the station.
The strike is the latest in a wave of militant incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province that has seen rising violence and sits close to the Afghan border. The attack comes amid strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul, with Pakistan accusing elements in Afghanistan of offering sanctuary to militants — a claim denied by Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.
Tensions between the two countries have recently escalated into armed confrontations, and Pakistani authorities have carried out strikes across the border. Local officials reported the death toll initially at 12; authorities later revised the figure upward to 15.
This account is based on statements from local police and administrative officials and reporting from AFP. Edited by Louis Oelofse.