By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the rear of the Domel Police Station in the northwestern district of Bannu late on Thursday, killing at least five civilians and injuring 13 others, including one police officer, authorities said Friday.
The dead included Dr. Naqeebullah, his wife, their son and their daughter — four members of the same family who lived in a house adjacent to the station. The blast’s force collapsed parts of nearby homes, trapped residents under rubble and shattered shop windows and shutters for blocks around. Security forces returned fire after the explosion, but the vehicle detonated before the attacker could penetrate the compound.
The explosion, powerful enough to be heard for miles, destroyed the station’s sentry post and reduced a large section of the building to rubble, according to police and rescue officials. Debris from the blast also damaged several neighbouring houses, leaving residents scrambling in the darkness to free those pinned beneath collapsed walls and roofs.
Rescue 1122 teams arrived quickly, but heavy overnight rain slowed efforts to clear the wreckage and reach those still trapped. District Emergency Officer Bakhtullah Wazir said five people had been confirmed dead and 13 injured — one of them a policeman — and had been taken to nearby hospitals, where some remained in critical condition. Search-and-rescue operations continued into Friday morning, he added, until every corner of the site had been cleared.
Once the shooting stopped, rescue workers launched a full-scale debris-removal effort. Local mosques broadcast appeals for blood donations, and residents turned out to help dig through the rubble alongside emergency crews. Security forces cordoned off the area and began their own clearance operation as investigators collected details on casualties and structural damage.
Bannu police spokesman Kashif Khan described the attack’s scale. “A powerful suicide blast struck the Domel police station in Bannu, causing widespread destruction in the surrounding area,” he said. “The intensity of the explosion brought down parts of nearby houses, shattered shop shutters and windows, and damaged sections of the police station, including the sentry post.”
Deputy Superintendent of Police Raza Khan confirmed the identities of four of the dead. “Those killed also include Dr. Naqeebullah, his wife, son and daughter,” he told reporters.
The Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out numerous attacks in the region, distanced itself from the bombing. No other group immediately claimed responsibility. Bannu district has been hit repeatedly in recent months, with militants targeting police officers, local jirga elders and civilians. Pakistani authorities have responded with targeted operations aimed at dismantling militant networks.
The province has recorded a sharp rise in terrorism-related deaths. According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies’ Annual Security Report 2025, fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa climbed from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 last year — a 44 percent increase that accounted for more than 82 percent of the national rise in violence.
The upsurge has coincided with the Taliban’s return to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistani officials accuse Afghan soil of being used as a sanctuary for anti-Pakistan militants and have pointed to alleged Indian backing for some cross-border attacks; both Kabul and New Delhi deny the charges. Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have spilled into open clashes, including one of the worst border confrontations in late February that left dozens dead and displaced hundreds on both sides.
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