Terrorist attack in Northwestern Pakistan: 15 Policemen slain in coordinated assault

ISLAMABAD: A major terrorist assault in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has left at least 15 policemen dead and several others wounded. The attack, characterised by a suicide ramming followed by a coordinated ambush, targeted a security outpost in the restive Bannu district.

According to local reports, militants drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the checkpoint, triggering a massive blast. In the immediate aftermath, insurgents armed with sophisticated weaponry launched a multi-directional assault on the station. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi condemned the incident, describing the strike as a "heinous and cowardly" act of violence.

While security forces engaged in a fierce gunbattle to repel the attackers, the scale of the carnage has sent shockwaves through the region. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also issued a statement condemning the violence.

Though no group has officially claimed responsibility, the incident bears the hallmarks of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad continues to allege that such groups operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, a claim the Afghan administration has repeatedly denied.