Pakistani Taliban kill ten police officers at checkpoint near Afghan border

Ten police officers were shot dead at a checkpoint near the Afghan border, officials said Friday, in an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

“The intense firefight lasted almost an hour. Ten Frontier Constabulary personnel were killed and seven were injured in the attack,” a senior intelligence officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

About 20 to 25 militants launched a heavy attack on a post of the Frontier Constabulary, a police auxiliary force, in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan has seen a rise in militancy since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, with the movement’s Pakistani wing carrying out attacks mainly targeting security forces.

A senior Frontier Constabulary official also confirmed the details on condition of anonymity.

The attack took place about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) east of the Afghan border.

One police officer was killed in a separate attack on Thursday evening, also close to the Afghan border in Khyber district.

Last month, a police convoy escorting foreign ambassadors was hit by a roadside explosion that killed a police officer.

The Pakistani Taliban historically has roots in Afghanistan and shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad says such attacks are launched from neighboring Afghanistan by several militant groups, many linked to the TTP, which Taliban authorities in Kabul deny.

(AFP)