Suicide bombers in northwest Pakistan kill at least 3 at security force headquarters

Peshawar, Pakistan — Two suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of security forces in northwest Pakistan on Monday morning, killing at least three police officers and injuring five others, police and emergency services said.

The attack took place in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the city’s police chief, Saeed Ahmad, said.

He said one of the attackers detonated his explosives at the main entrance to the provincial headquarters of the federal gendarmerie, while the second suicide bomber was shot and killed by agents near the parking lot.

According to Ahmad, a large number of security officers were inside the headquarters for morning parade drills when the attack took place. “The terrorists involved in today’s attack were on foot and failed to reach the parade area and a quick response by our forces prevented a much greater tragedy,” he told The Associated Press.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also praised the “timely action” of security forces which helped prevent further loss of life, according to French news agency AFP. “We will foil the evil designs of terrorists who are attacking the integrity of Pakistan,” he said.

An AFP journalist saw body parts of a suspected suicide bomber lying outside the main gate, riddled with shrapnel.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have been blamed for similar attacks in the country, which has seen a surge in militant attacks. The TPP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban who rule Afghanistan.

The latest attack came less than two weeks after a suicide bomber struck outside a court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people.

The attacks have strained ties between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban government, with Pakistan accusing the Pakistani Taliban of operating freely inside Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in 2021.

The Pakistani government often accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to cross-border attacks by militants.

Kabul denies the allegation, but tensions between the two sides escalated after Afghanistan accused Pakistan of being responsible for the October 9 drone strikes in Kabul and vowed to retaliate. The ensuing fighting killed dozens of people, including soldiers, civilians and militants, before Qatar negotiated a ceasefire on October 19, which remains in effect.

It was followed by two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, during which the two sides failed to reach an agreement after Afghanistan refused to give written guarantees that the TTP would not use Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan has stepped up its operations against the TTP in recent weeks, killing dozens of insurgents near Afghanistan’s border regions.