At Least 17 Killed in Three Separate Incidents in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

Pakistani army and a security official reported that recent attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province targeted a security post and a police station.

The army stated on Monday that attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a wall near a post in Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel and one young girl. The statement described the blast as causing "widespread destruction" to nearby residential buildings, resulting in the death of an "innocent young girl" and injuries to seven others. The army labeled the incident a "cowardly terrorist attack" attributed to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad considers an "Indian proxy." Security forces killed 12 militants as they fled the scene.

An unnamed security official told Agence France-Presse that the car bomb struck the wall of a religious school.

In a separate incident, an improvised explosive device hidden in a rickshaw detonated near a police station, killing two civilians and wounding 17 others, according to the official.

In Shangla district, a search operation resulted in the deaths of three police officers and three militants, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police said in a statement. The militants were involved in attacks targeting Chinese citizens. The police noted that last March, five Chinese nationals working on a major dam project in Pakistan, along with their driver, were killed in a suicide bombing.

The police statement said the Monday operation was conducted due to "ongoing threats to the strategic highway corridor and Chinese development projects."

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw a rise in terrorist attacks last year. According to the Pakistan Center for Security Research's annual report, fatalities in the province increased from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025, a 44% rise.