Pakistan militant attack kills 10 frontier police, sources say

At least 10 Pakistani frontier police were killed in a militant attack on an outpost near the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan, police sources said.

Thursday's attack, claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, comes as Pakistan battles a resurgence of militant attacks in northwest, as well as a growing ethnic separatist insurgency in the south.

Three senior police sources confirmed the attack, saying a large group of militants stormed the outpost, killing members of the frontier constabulary security force.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one.

The attack was confirmed by Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, chief minister of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in a statement on Friday that condemned it, but did not state the number of deaths.

Retaliation

In its statement claiming responsibility, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group said the attack was retaliation for the killing of a senior leader, Ustad Qureshi.

Qureshi was one of nine people, including two suicide bombers, killed in an intelligence-based operation in the district of Bajaur bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan's military said in a statement on Thursday.

The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement that now rules Afghanistan after US-led international forces withdrew in 2021.

Islamabad says the TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and says the ruling Taliban administration has provided safe havens to the group close to the border. The Taliban deny this.