Pakistan: 12 police officers die in car bomb blast and gunfight near Afghan Border
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Pakistan: 12 police officers die in car bomb blast and gunfight near Afghan Border")
Pakistani soldiers patrol at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman, Balochistan province on March 19, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Twelve Pakistani police officers were killed in a suicide car bombing and gunfight in Bannu. Militant alliance Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush near the unstable Afghan border.
At least 12 Pakistani police officers were killed in a car bombing and subsequent ambush in the country’s northwestern region, police said on Sunday (May 10), in one of the deadliest recent attacks targeting security personnel near the Afghan border.
According to police officials, militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police outpost on Saturday before storming the premises and opening fire on officers stationed there. The attack took place in Pakistan’s northwestern Bannu district.
Images from the scene showed the police post reduced to rubble, with charred wreckage, scattered bricks and mangled vehicles spread across the area. Police official Sajjad Khan said in a statement that the bodies of 12 officers had been recovered from the collapsed outpost, while three surviving personnel were rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment.
A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attackers first detonated the explosive-filled vehicle and then entered the compound to fire at any surviving officers.
“Other law enforcement personnel were sent to help the police, but the terrorists ambushed them and caused some casualties,” the official said. Police sources also claimed the militants used drones during the assault, though no further details were immediately provided. Emergency services and ambulances from rescue agencies and civil hospitals rushed to the site, while authorities declared a state of emergency at government hospitals in Bannu to deal with the casualties. A militant alliance known as the Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
The incident comes amid persistent tensions along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, where militant violence has threatened to reignite broader conflict between the neighbouring countries. The worst fighting in years broke out in February after Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted militant hideouts. Although clashes have since reduced, sporadic skirmishes continue along the border, and no formal ceasefire has been reached.
