At least 6 police officers, 5 suspected insurgents, and one civilian die in an attack in Pakistan

At least six police officers, five suspected insurgents, and one civilian died last night in a car bomb attack allegedly orchestrated by the Taliban insurgency in the conflict-ridden Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "On the night of October 10-11, 2025, in a cowardly terrorist attack, khwarij elements belonging to the Indian proxy group Fitna al Khwarij attacked the Police Training School of Dera Ismail Khan district," the Pakistani army's media wing (ISPR) reported in a statement this Saturday. The Pakistan Army uses the term khwarij, which refers to those who abandon Islam, to describe members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group or Pakistani Taliban, whom Islamabad accuses of being supported by India. According to the ISPR, the attackers tried to breach the security perimeter of the training school, but their plans "were quickly thwarted by vigilance". "In their desperation, the attackers crashed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the main gate," detailed the Pakistani Army. The ISPR specified that security forces killed five alleged insurgents during the attack. "In the intense exchange of fire, six brave police officers fell as martyrs after maintaining a heroic defense. In addition, twelve police officers and an innocent civilian were injured," added the army. According to Pakistani authorities, the attackers also stormed a mosque in the training complex, where they killed the imam. Pakistan has witnessed an increase in insurgent attacks in the last year and a half, mainly in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan, and Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran, where separatist groups operate, which Islamabad accuses of terrorism. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a porous 2,600-kilometer border. Attacks against the Police and against members of the security forces and the Army are common in the border areas. Islamabad accuses the Taliban, who have led neighboring Afghanistan since August 2021, of harboring members of the TTP - ideological brothers of the fundamentalists in Kabul - who carry out terrorist operations in Pakistani areas. Yesterday, the Taliban accused Pakistan of violating its airspace the day before and bombing a civilian market in Paktika province. This week, at least 56 alleged TTP members have died in operations by the Pakistan Army in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.