Pakistan | Pakistan: 10 killed in suicide attack on police station in Swat Valley

Peshawar. At least 10 people, including eight policemen, were killed and over 20 injured in a “suicide attack” on a police station in Pakistan’s restive northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday. This information was given by the authorities. The blast took place at the Kabal police station in the Swat Valley. The police station complex also houses the Anti-Terrorism Department and a mosque. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan said security officials were on “high alert” across the province. At least 10 people, including eight policemen, were killed and more than 20 injured in a “suspected suicide attack” on Monday at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Swat’s Kabal, Dawn newspaper quoted police as saying. People got injured. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban have claimed similar attacks in recent months after ending a ceasefire with the government. Earlier, District Police Officer (DPO) Shafi Ullah Gandapur said that two explosions took place inside the police station, destroying the building, Geo News reported. Police said several people were buried under the debris, while the injured were being taken to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital. Meanwhile, emergency was declared in all the nearby hospitals. Home Minister Rana Sanaullah condemned the blast and expressed grief over the loss of lives. “Terrorism will be uprooted soon,” he said. Radio Pakistan reported that KP’s caretaker chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan also strongly condemned the blast and directed the concerned authorities to speed up the rescue and relief operations.