Death toll rises to 14 in a Pakistan suicide attack claimed by a
Pakistani Taliban splinter group
[May 11, 2026]
By RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from a suicide attack on a
security post in northwest Pakistan rose to 14 police officers early
Sunday, authorities said as a self-proclaimed breakaway group of the
Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden
vehicle near the post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province bordering Afghanistan, late on Saturday, senior police official
Sajjad Khan said. The attack triggered a shootout, and some officers
were killed in the exchange, while others died later after the building
collapsed.
Rescuers searched for hours and used heavy machinery to retrieve bodies
from under the rubble, Khan said, adding that three police officers were
wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, hundreds gathered at the Bannu police headquarters for the
funerals of the slain officers. Uniformed colleagues stood in silence as
coffins, draped in the national flag, were carried past grieving
families. Some relatives broke down upon seeing the coffins. A Muslim
cleric led funeral prayers under tight security
Security forces have launched an operation to track down the
perpetrators.
A newly formed militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, claimed
responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to reporters. While
the group claims it was formed by splinter factions of the Pakistani
Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, authorities have accused it
of being a front for the TTP.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years,
much of it blamed on the TTP, a separate group but an ally of the Afghan
Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad often
accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to the
TTP, a claim that Kabul denies.
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A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and
local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a
security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10,
2026. (AP Photo/Aamad Khattak)
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali
Zardari condemned the attack and expressed their condolences to the
families of the victims. Zardari instructed local authorities to
assist the wounded and residents whose homes were damaged in the
attack.
Zadari said that militants find safe havens in neighboring
Afghanistan and also vowed to target “their facilitators and
sponsors.”
“Terrorists operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan under the
Taliban administration and supported externally are targeting
civilians and law enforcement personnel in Pakistan,” he said.
Tensions between the two neighbors have persisted, and both sides
have engaged in fighting that has killed hundreds of people since
late February.
In early April, Afghan and Pakistani officials held peace talks
mediated by China. However, despite the talks, sporadic cross-border
clashes have continued, though at a lower intensity than before.
___
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Rasool Dawar
in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan,
Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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