Deadly Attacks Near Afghanistan Border Kill Pakistani Official and 5 Police Officers Amid Rising Tensions

Initial reports indicated the cause was an "improvised explosive device".

A local government official and five police officers have been killed in two separate attacks in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan, officials confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.

Tensions remain high between the two neighboring countries following weeks of escalating border clashes, despite a ceasefire agreement reached after violent confrontations in October.

On Wednesday, three police officers were killed and two others wounded in an explosion in Paniala, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a border region frequently targeted by extremist groups.

According to Ali Hamza, a police official from the nearby city of Dera Ismail Khan who spoke to AFP, preliminary investigations suggest the blast was caused by an "improvised explosive device".

No organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has a long history of conducting operations in the province.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, armed assailants killed local administrator Shah Wali and set his vehicle on fire in the nearby city of Bannu, according to local policeman Kamal Khan's statement to AFP.

Two police officers were also killed in the attack, with three others sustaining injuries, Khan reported.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for this attack.

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of failing to expel extremist elements using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan, allegations that the Taliban authorities in Kabul consistently deny.

According to a report by the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the number of extremist attacks in Pakistan increased last month compared to October, with civilian fatalities surging by 80 percent.

These attacks included a rare suicide bombing outside a courthouse in the capital Islamabad on November 11, which killed 12 people and was claimed by a TTP faction.

More than 1,600 people lost their lives in extremist attacks across Pakistan in 2024, making it the deadliest year in nearly a decade, according to data from the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.