Pakistan: Seven policemen killed, 13 injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attack

Islamabad, Oct 11 (IANS) At least seven Pakistani police personnel were killed and 13 injured in an attack in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), authorities confirmed on Saturday.

The incident unfolded in Dera Ismail (DI) Khan district late Friday night when attackers tried to ram a vehicle loaded with explosives into the boundary wall of a police training school in an attempt to breach the compound, local media reported.

According to police, the heavily armed attackers launched the assault with a suicide bombing before storming the training facility. Subsequently, a fierce gunfight broke out between the assailants and the stationed officers, leaving seven police officers and five attackers dead, Pakistani media outlet Geo News reported

Reports suggest that amid the chaos, the attackers set fire to the nearby National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office, using it to hinder security movement. The blaze quickly engulfed several vehicles parked nearby, which were burned to ashes before the fire was contained.

Addressing the media, Muhammad Imran Khan, Director General of Public Relations (DGPR) KP, said that more than 200 police officers and recruits who were present at the training school during the attack were evacuated.

Recently, several areas in KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have witnessed a series of attacks, particularly targetting Pakistani police personnel.

Earlier on Thursday, a senior army officer was killed during an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) in DI Khan while on Wednesday, a police officer lost his life when a police checkpoint in the district came under attack from multiple directions.

The Pakistani security establishment appears to be crumbling with violent protests and terror attacks engulfing Lahore and KP, respectively.

While protests have erupted in Lahore following violent clashes between the security forces and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), in KP, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) killed an Army Major and injured several soldiers.

The violence comes amid Pakistan trying to forge alliances between the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to fight against the TTP in KP and Balochistan.

--IANS

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