Pakistan suicide bomber attack leaves 22 dead

A soldier examines the site of the latest bombing. Pic/AP

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle at a police station's main gate in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing at least 22 officers and wounding 32 others, and causing a part of the building to collapse upon impact, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months. Some militants also opened fire and a shootout ensued for hours between them and security forces before three attackers were gunned down, local police officer Kamal Khan said.

The death toll from the attack was likely to rise as some of the officers were in critical condition, authorities said. The bodies of the 22 security forces killed were transferred to a hospital, Mohammad Adnan, a senior police official told reporters. Police launched a search operation in the surrounding area to apprehend the militants who got away, officials said.

The attack happened in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Khan said. The newly formed militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan - believed to be an offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan - claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

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