KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani media have reported that at least 15 people were killed and three others injured in an attack on a police checkpoint in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the attack took place last night (Saturday, May 9) on the “Fateh Khel” police checkpoint in the Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the report, the “terrorists” began their assault by ramming a vehicle loaded with explosives into the checkpoint building and then opened fire, leading to a gun battle.
“During the assault, the militants used quadcopters along with heavy weaponry,” a senior administrative official in Bannu told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Sajjad Khan, a police officer in Bannu, said that 18 police personnel were present at the checkpoint at the time of the attack, 15 of whom were killed and three others injured.
Dawn reported that the Fateh Khel checkpoint building was completely destroyed in the attack, and nearby buildings were also damaged.
According to the newspaper, rescue operations began immediately after the attack and concluded this morning after the bodies and injured were pulled from the rubble.
A district administrative official in Bannu told Agence France-Presse that the attackers also used quadcopters and heavy weapons during the assault, though Pakistani sources have not yet confirmed this claim.
A group calling itself “Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen” is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan. The attacks often target security personnel, police patrols, military convoys, and government installations.
Militant groups, including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Army, as well as affiliated factions, have intensified attacks in these regions in recent years. Pakistani authorities say the groups have expanded operations against security forces, infrastructure, and government facilities.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of allowing militants from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to use Afghan territory as a base to launch cross-border attacks. Taliban deny the accusations and say Pakistan should address its security challenges internally.
The rise in violence has strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities in Kabul. For years, Pakistan maintained close ties with the Afghan Taliban and hosted many of the movement’s leaders and fighters during the two decades of war against the Western-backed Afghan government that preceded the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
In recent months, however, relations have deteriorated sharply, with both sides exchanging accusations and military actions along the border. Pakistan has carried out several airstrikes in border areas and, in some cases, deeper inside Afghanistan.
Clashes that began in late February have resulted in significant civilian casualties in Afghanistan. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 others wounded across the country since then, with women and children accounting for the majority of casualties.
The continuing violence and cross-border tensions have raised concerns among regional governments and international organizations about further instability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Calls from regional countries and humanitarian groups for restraint and dialogue between the two sides have so far failed to halt the hostilities.
