Pakistan Police Suffer Heavy Losses in Deadly Hangu Checkpoint Attack

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A militant assault on a police checkpoint in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed 10 police officers on Wednesday, highlighting the growing security challenges confronting authorities as insurgent violence continues to intensify along the country's border with Afghanistan.

The attack targeted the Khazina Banda police checkpost in Hangu district, where heavily armed militants launched a coordinated assault that triggered prolonged clashes with security personnel. Pakistani police said the fighting left 10 officers dead and 26 others wounded, making it one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the province in recent months.

According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, security forces mounted a determined response, killing 15 militants and wounding dozens more during the exchange of fire. The statement also said an armored personnel carrier and several police vehicles sustained extensive damage in the battle.

Earlier local police officials identified one of the officers killed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mujahid Hussain, underscoring the senior-level losses suffered in the attack. Authorities said clearance operations continued in the surrounding area after the initial assault as security personnel searched for any remaining attackers.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has expanded its campaign against Pakistani security forces in recent years, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video statement circulated on social media. The claim came as the group continues to step up operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where security forces have faced increasingly frequent assaults on military installations, police posts, and government facilities.

The latest violence follows another deadly attack in the province only days earlier. In Tank district, militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security checkpoint, killing 15 people, including soldiers, police officers, and government personnel. Pakistani military officials said security forces killed 12 militants during that confrontation.

The succession of attacks reflects a broader deterioration in Pakistan's security environment, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighboring Balochistan, provinces that have become the focal points of the country's insurgency.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly linked the resurgence in militant activity to armed groups operating from across the Afghan border following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has accused Kabul of failing to prevent militant organizations from using Afghan territory to organize attacks inside Pakistan, allegations consistently rejected by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities.

The dispute has fueled tensions between the neighboring countries. Pakistan has carried out cross-border military strikes that it says target militant infrastructure, while the Taliban government has condemned those operations, arguing they have caused civilian casualties. The United Nations has also expressed concern over the humanitarian consequences of recent strikes inside eastern Afghanistan.

The Hangu attack also comes amid an intensified counterterrorism campaign by Pakistani security forces. Hours before news of the assault emerged, the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), announced that security forces had killed 32 militants during separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan over the previous 24 hours. Pakistani authorities described those militants as being backed by India, an allegation New Delhi has consistently denied.

Independent assessments likewise point to a worsening security picture. According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained Pakistan's most violence-affected province during the second quarter of 2026, accounting for the largest share of conflict-related deaths and incidents nationwide. Together with Balochistan, the two provinces represented the overwhelming majority of fatalities linked to militant violence during the period.

The latest attack illustrates the persistent challenge facing Pakistan's security forces despite ongoing military operations. As investigators continue examining the assault and troops pursue remaining militants in Hangu district, authorities face mounting pressure to contain an insurgency that has grown increasingly deadly and sophisticated across the country's northwest.