Pakistan Taliban Splinter Group Claims Responsibility for Deadly Car Bomb Attack in Bannu

A suspected car bombing followed by a firefight at a police checkpoint in Bannu district, northwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border, killed 14 police officers and injured at least three others.

According to police, a suicide bomber accompanied by several gunmen rammed an explosives-laden car into the security post late Saturday. The powerful blast triggered a fierce gun battle, with several officers killed during the fighting and others dying when parts of the building collapsed. The police post was reduced to rubble, with mangled vehicles scattered around the site.

On Sunday, Pakistan held a state funeral for the 14 slain police officers.

A newly formed militant outfit called Mujahedin Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the assault. In a message sent to media, the group—described as being created by splinter factions of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP)—said it carried out the attack. However, authorities allege the outfit is merely a front organization for the TTP.

Pakistan has experienced a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent years, many of them attributed to the TTP, an ally of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban that returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants, allegations that Kabul continues to deny.

Ties between the two neighboring countries have remained strained, fueling recurring cross-border clashes since late February that have left hundreds dead on both sides.