PESHAWAR, Pakistan—A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden truck at the main gate of a police station in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing at least 23 servicemen and injuring 32 others, as well as causing a portion of the structure to collapse, according to the military and officials.
The attack, one of the bloodiest in recent months in the country, destroyed businesses and stores, smashing windows.
The military stated in a statement that six terrorists opened fire and engaged in an hour-long gunfight with security personnel at the police station before being put down. Local police also stated that all six assailants had been killed.
Authorities warned the death toll was expected to grow since several of the cops were in serious condition. The remains of the 23 people slain have been taken to a hospital, according to Mohammad Adnan, a senior police official.
Separately, the army stated that "troops killed 27 insurgents" in other operations in the same area.
According to local officer Kamal, the attack was directed at the Daraban police station in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province bordering Afghanistan. The province was formerly a stronghold of the terrorist group Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, or TJP, a recently created terrorist group thought to be an offshoot of the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, stating it targeted officials at the police station. According to the statement, 20 cops were slain. This, however, could not be independently verified.
"The police station was under attack," claimed Mehrban Khan, owner of a motel near the scene of the incident. "The army was being attacked," he claimed. "There were many army soldiers killed and wounded."
According to Mr. Khan, a big number of security personnel from around the nation had recently maintained a regular presence at the police station, where they were conducting intelligence-based operations against terrorists in the region with the assistance of local police.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi condemned the incident and expressed condolences to the families of those who were "martyred," saying "their sacrifices would not go to waste" and that such attacks would not undermine security forces' commitment.
Sarfraz Bugti, Pakistan's acting Interior Minister, condemned the assault as "terrorism."
This year has seen an increase in violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with multiple deadly incursions by terrorists. In January, a suicide bomber masquerading as a police officer assaulted a mosque in the northern city of Peshawar, killing at least 101 people, the majority of them were police officers.
Since 2022, the Pakistani Taliban has increased attacks on security troops. Authorities claim that since the Taliban took control Afghanistan in 2021, the rebels have become more confident.
The TTP, despite being a different organization, is closely associated with the Afghan Taliban.
Dera Ismail Khan is close to South Waziristan, a former terrorist haven. After terrorists stormed an army-run school in 2014, killing more than 150 people, predominantly schoolchildren, Pakistan's army launched various operations against them.
