BREAKING

At least 7 killed, 40 injured in blasts in police station: Pakistan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Apr 2023 21:50

The blasts target a counter-terrorism police station in Pakistan and cause the building to collapse.

Rescue workers remove an injured victim from the site of a bomb explosion, in Kabal, an area of Pakistan's Swat Valley, Monday, April 24, 2023 (AP)

Two blasts inside a counter-terrorism police station in the Pakistani town of Kabal, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Monday, claimed the lives of at least seven Pakistani servicemen and caused the building to collapse, according to police reports.

Attaullah Khan, a local police officer who spoke to AFP, said, "We are not sure about the identity of those killed," adding, "However, the persons who were transferred to the hospitals include a large number of police officials."

The senior police official, Khalid Sohail, explained that the "explosions occurred within the police station, resulting in the complete collapse of the building."

The search for survivors continues in Kabal, said Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial rescue service, as the number of wounded exceeds 40 "with the majority of the victims being policemen."

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, it is expected that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is behind it as the group has claimed two similar attacks since the beginning of the year.

Pakistan Taliban militants kill 4 police in Pakistan's Balochistan

Four police officers were killed on April 11 during clashes with militants in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, police confirmed.

Officials said militants identified by police as being from the Pakistan Taliban opened fire on a pre-dawn patrol in Kuchlak, and were still on the run.

"Militants opened fire on a police team from a compound killing four policemen," senior local police official Muhammad Zohaib told AFP.

"One terrorist was also killed during the exchange of fire, while the remainder escaped," he noted.

Counter-terrorism department official Aitzaz Goraya said that the militants were from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is separate from Afghanistan's Taliban but shares a similar ideology.

The TTP had agreed with the Pakistani government on a ceasefire in June 2022. However, both parties have made several claims that the truce was ignored, with numerous clashes taking place.