Islamabad, Aug 2 (IANS) At least seven people were killed and 18 others injured in a suicide attack at Kabal police station in Swat district of Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, local media reported.
"According to initial information, seven people were killed, and 18 others were injured. Our police are on high alert and fully prepared to respond to any untoward situation. Security forces have cordoned off the area, and an investigation is underway to collect further evidence," Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Gandapur said, the daily Dawn reported.
According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Malakand, Syed Fida Hussain, police lines facility and other sensitive government buildings were located near the police station.
"Preliminary reports indicated that four police officers were seriously injured in the blast, while two civilians were also wounded," Hussain said, as per The Express Tribune.
The incident happened while hundreds of people were participating in a public demonstration at Kabal Chowk close to the police station.
The injured were shifted to nearby Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital for treatment, while security personnel sealed off the area and launched a search operation.
At least nine police personnel were killed, and 28 others injured after armed assailants targeted Khazina Banda checkpost in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this week, local media reported.
Fitna al Khawarij, a term used by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan, were behind the attack, according to the statement released by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed, the Dawn reported.
Hameed said that police personnel responded to the attack and additional forces were sent to the site. He said that nine police personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), were killed while 28 others were injured during the exchange of fire between police and armed assailants.
The incidents occurred amid a rise in attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in Pakistan, especially in the border provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
--IANS
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