ISLAMABAD: At least 21 police officers have been killed in northwestern Pakistan after a car bomb attack on a police post was followed by a heavy gunbattle, according to police and security officials.
The attack took place in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, late on Saturday. An armed group alliance calling itself Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan has claimed responsibility.
Police official Zahid Khan told The Associated Press that a suicide attacker and several gunmen rammed and detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a security post. The blast triggered multiple explosions, causing the structure to collapse.
Eyewitness accounts and images from the scene showed the police post reduced to rubble, with debris, burnt remains and damaged vehicles scattered around the area.
Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported that the explosion was followed by a coordinated assault on the checkpoint. “At least 21 policemen were killed,” he said.
Three injured people are being treated in hospital.
Reuters, citing security sources, reported that police personnel who rushed to the site for reinforcement were also ambushed following the initial explosion.
(Inputs from Reuters and Al Jazeera)
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