3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 08:56 PM IST
Militants used explosive-laden quadcopters to attack a police post in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before launching a gun assault that killed 11 officers, highlighting an alarming shift in militant tactics near the Afghan border.
The attack took place in Hangu district near the Afghan border on Wednesday. The area, according to a Reuters report, has long served as a den for militant groups.
According to a report, police said the militants initially used quadcopters laden with explosives to attack the police post ahead of ambushing it. The police statement added that in an hours-long gun battle with the attackers, security forces killed 15 of them while receiving heavy casualties.
People transport a man, who was injured in the militant attack on a police post in Hangu district, upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. (AP Photo)
Pakistan blames Afghanistan over militant safe havens
Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of harbouring militant havens on its territory and training them to attack Pakistan. Afghanistan’s Taliban government has rejected the allegations and said that “militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem,” Reuters reported.
11 officers killed; no group claims responsibility
The ambush at the police post led to the killing of 11 police officers, and 28 others were hospitalised with injuries. The local police added that among those who were killed was Deputy Superintendent Diyar Khan, who had led reinforcements to the scene, Al Jazeera reported.
The Islamist militants have recently started using quadcopters with improvised explosive devices (IED) to target police checkposts in border areas in Pakistan, Reuters reported. However, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Attack follows another deadly suicide bombing
The ambush in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province comes a few days after a suicide bombing killed 15, including 12 Pakistani army soldiers, in the nearby district of Tank. The suicide attack was carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistan Taliban.
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Pakistan leaders condemn attack
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the border checkpost attack in Hangu.
“Police have always served as the frontline force in the fight against terrorism,” Sharif said. The prime minister reaffirmed the government’s firm resolve to eliminate terrorism “in all its forms” from the nation, PTI reported.
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