A roadside bomb struck a police vehicle Friday in Hangu city, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border, killing a city police chief and two junior officers, officials said.
Local police chief Adam Khan said the officers were heading to a police station that had been attacked less than an hour earlier. He did not provide further details.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attacks and attributed the violence to the Pakistani Taliban.
The assault comes a day before Pakistan and Afghanistan are scheduled to hold a second round of peace talks in Istanbul, following initial discussions in Doha on Oct. 19. The talks, brokered by Qatar and Turkey, followed deadly border clashes that killed dozens on both sides and led to a temporary ceasefire.
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The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, which returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 after the U.S. and NATO withdrawal. Many TTP fighters have sought refuge in Afghanistan, some living openly under Taliban rule, emboldening the group and straining Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
All border crossings between the two countries have been closed since Oct. 13 after the clashes. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never formally recognized.
Source: AP