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2w ago

Bannu Police Checkpoint Leveled in Suicide Assault, At Least 14 Officers Killed

The scale and tactics point to a worsening insurgency requiring a tougher crackdown.

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A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officers and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
Police officers and local residents examine the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)

Overview

  • Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa say a car bomb and follow-up gun attack that struck the Fateh Khel checkpoint Saturday left at least 14 officers dead and reduced the post to rubble.
  • The assault began with a vehicle-borne bomb, after which dozens of militants entered the post and ambushed reinforcements, with officials reporting drone use and saying attackers took weapons and some personnel.
  • A group calling itself Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan claimed responsibility, though officials have not independently verified the claim or detailed the group’s links to the Pakistan Taliban.
  • Rescuers pulled survivors from debris overnight, hospitals declared an emergency, and police launched search and clearance operations as homes near the blast site lay damaged and civilians nursed injuries.
  • The attack followed two intelligence-based raids Wednesday and Thursday in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan that the military said killed five militants, underscoring a broader surge in violence since 2021 that has strained ties with Afghanistan and prompted vows of intensified counterterrorism under Azm-e-Istehkam.