At least 10 police officers were killed after Islamist militants launched a coordinated drone attack and ambush on a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, authorities said on Thursday.
The attack occurred late Wednesday in Hangu District, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, a region that has long been plagued by militant violence.
According to police, the attackers first used quadcopters fitted with improvised explosive devices to strike the security post before launching a ground assault.
The ensuing gun battle lasted several hours.
Provincial Police Chief Zulfikar Hameed said 10 police officers were killed during the attack, while security forces also killed 15 of the assailants.
The latest assault is the second major militant attack in the area within a week, underscoring growing security concerns along Pakistan’s northwestern border.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
However, it comes just days after a suicide bombing in the neighbouring Tank District killed 15 people, including 12 Pakistani soldiers. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for that attack.
Security officials said militant groups have increasingly adopted the use of commercial drones to carry out attacks on military and police installations in border communities.
Violence has escalated sharply in Pakistan’s frontier regions in recent months, following renewed tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused militant groups of operating from safe havens inside Afghanistan and using them to plan cross-border attacks.
The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has consistently denied the allegations, insisting that militancy in Pakistan is an internal security issue.
The TTP has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani government since 2007, seeking to overthrow the state and impose its interpretation of Islamic law.
The resurgence of militant attacks has heightened fears of renewed instability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where clashes between the two neighbours have intensified in recent months.
Earlier this year, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan following deadly cross-border attacks blamed on militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
