At least 14 people died in a suspected suicide bombing outside a police station in northwestern Pakistan, according to a rescue organization and a senior regional police official, as the country confronts a growing wave of insurgent violence.
The blast struck the Kabal area of Swat, a district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A rally organized by local residents in support of police was underway nearby when the explosion occurred. Officials had not immediately determined whether the gathering was the attack’s intended target.
Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the dead included five police officers and eight civilians. The 14th victim was believed to be the suicide bomber, he said.
Locals evacuate an injured victim
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said he felt “deep grief and sorrow over the suicide blast.”
Victims included five police officers and eight civilians
Militant attacks have increased sharply in Pakistan’s border regions in recent months, with security forces—especially the military and police—bearing the brunt of the violence.
The Pakistani government has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of supporting the militants and contributing to the escalation. The Taliban government has rejected those allegations.
