Death toll rises to 14 in a Pakistan suicide attack claimed by a Pakistani Taliban splinter group

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.

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.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.