Pakistan Accuses Afghanistan-Based Militants After Deadly Police Post Attack

Pakistan on Monday accused militants operating from Afghan territory of carrying out a deadly assault on a police outpost in the northwestern district of Bannu that killed 15 security personnel over the weekend.

The attack, one of the deadliest against police forces in recent months, left the outpost in ruins after militants reportedly used a vehicle packed with explosives before launching a coordinated armed assault.

Images released after Saturday’s attack showed collapsed walls, burned vehicles and debris scattered across the area where the police facility once stood. Rescue teams worked through the wreckage for hours to recover victims trapped beneath the rubble.

Police official Sajjad Khan said the bodies of 15 officers had been pulled from the destroyed building, while three other personnel were rescued alive and transported to hospital for treatment.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attackers first rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the compound before entering the damaged premises and opening fire on surviving officers.

“Other law enforcement personnel were sent to help the police, but the terrorists ambushed them and caused some casualties,” the official said.

Security officials also said the attackers used drones during the assault, highlighting increasingly sophisticated tactics being adopted by militant groups operating near the Afghan border.

Emergency services and ambulances from nearby hospitals rushed to the scene shortly after the explosion, while authorities declared an emergency in government hospitals across Bannu to deal with the casualties.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the militant alliance Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry later said the militants involved were based in Afghanistan, repeating Islamabad’s long-standing accusation that armed groups use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban administration has repeatedly denied those claims, insisting that militancy inside Pakistan is a domestic security issue and rejecting accusations of providing sanctuary to armed groups.

The latest violence threatens to deepen tensions between the neighbouring countries, whose relations have deteriorated sharply over border security issues during the past year.

The deadliest clashes in years erupted in February after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying it was targeting militant hideouts linked to attacks on Pakistani soil. Afghan authorities condemned the strikes, raising fears of wider conflict between the two countries.

Although large-scale fighting has since subsided, sporadic border clashes and militant attacks continue to fuel instability in the region. No formal ceasefire or long-term security agreement has been reached between Islamabad and Kabul.

Security analysts warn that continued militant violence along the frontier could further strain relations between the two governments and complicate efforts to stabilise the border region, which has experienced decades of insurgency and unrest.