Suspected suicide bombing at police station kills at least 14 in Pakistan, officials say

At least 14 people, including five police officers and eight civilians, were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside a police station in northwestern Pakistan's Swat district.

At least ​14 people were killed ​in a suspected suicide ‌bombing outside a ​police station in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, a rescue group and a regional police ‌official said, as the country battles widening insurgencies. The explosion took place in the Kabal area of Swat, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A ‌pro-police rally of local residents was taking place in the same ‌area on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear whether the rally was the intended target. Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the victims included five ⁠police officers ​and eight ⁠civilians. The 14th person was believed to be the suicide bomber, he told Reuters.

At ⁠least 18 people were wounded, according to a police statement. It said ​an operation had been launched to arrest anyone who may have ⁠assisted the attack. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in a statement expressed "deep grief and sorrow ⁠over ​the suicide blast".

Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting mainly the military and police. The Pakistani ⁠government blames the Afghan Taliban for the escalation, accusing it of providing ⁠support to ⁠the militants. The Taliban government has denied the accusations.