Militants kill at least 10 police in drone and ambush attack on Pakistan checkpoint

The attack

Late Wednesday, Islamist militants armed with quadcopter-borne improvised explosive devices and heavy weapons assaulted the Khazina police post in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border. The initial strike was followed by an ambush on police reinforcements rushing to the scene, which damaged an armored personnel carrier before officers fought back. The gunbattle lasted several hours, according to provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed. By Thursday morning, the death toll stood at 10 police officers, though the Associated Press reported 11 fatalities, while 15 attackers were killed. More than two dozen officers were wounded, with local officials citing 22 injured. Diyar Khan, a senior officer who led the reinforcement column, was among the dead.

Conflicting casualty counts

Early reports from Geo News, citing district police officer Tariq Habib, put the toll at seven police and eight suspected militants killed. As the clearance operation progressed, Hameed told Reuters that 10 officers and 15 attackers had died. The AP later confirmed 11 police dead. The varying figures reflect the fluid situation on the ground and the difficulty of verifying casualties during an ongoing operation. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Second assault in a week

The Hangu attack follows a suicide bombing on July 24 in the Tank district, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security checkpoint, killing 15 people, including 12 army soldiers, police, and government personnel. Security forces killed 12 attackers, and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility. The two attacks mark a sharp escalation in militant violence targeting Pakistani security forces.

Cross-border blame and armed conflict

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants, who Islamabad says use Afghan territory to plan and train for attacks. Kabul denies the charge, insisting militancy is Pakistan's internal issue. The dispute has already triggered armed clashes: in February 2026, the two neighbors fought their worst battles in years, with Pakistan launching airstrikes inside Afghanistan that killed hundreds. In June, further Pakistani strikes in eastern Afghanistan killed dozens of civilians, according to the Taliban and the United Nations. The surge in attacks has the potential to reignite full-scale fighting between the two countries.

A shifting militant threat

The TTP, a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani state since 2007, seeking to overthrow the government and impose strict Islamic rule. In recent months, the group has increasingly used quadcopter IEDs to target security forces, a tactic seen in the Hangu assault. While no group has claimed the latest attack, suspicion falls heavily on the TTP, which has stepped up operations in the border region. Pakistani authorities have launched a clearance operation in Hangu and vowed to pursue those responsible.