17 killed in suspected suicide bombing at Pakistan police station

PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — At least 17 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, according to a rescue group and a regional police official, as the country faces rising militant attacks.

The explosion occurred in the Kabal area of Swat district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A pro-police rally by local residents was being held in the same area at the time, but it was not immediately clear whether the gathering was the intended target.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

At least 34 people were wounded in the blast, according to a spokesperson for Rescue 1122.

The death toll increased from 14 to 17 after three injured victims died in the hospital. The victims included seven police officers and 10 civilians. One of those killed was believed to be the suicide bomber, regional police official Fida Hussain told Reuters.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief and sorrow over the suicide blast” in a statement.

Police said an operation had been launched to arrest anyone suspected of assisting in the attack.

Militant violence in Pakistan’s border areas has increased sharply in recent months, with attacks mainly targeting the military and police.

The Pakistani government has blamed the Afghan Taliban for the rise in militant activity, accusing it of supporting armed groups. The Taliban government has denied the allegations. -Reporting by Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar and Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan; Editing by Rick Noack, Alex Richardson and Susan Fenton/Reuters