Officials and others attend funeral prayers of police officers, who were killed when gunmen attacked a police training center, in Dera Ismail Khan in northwestern Pakistan. (Picture credit: PTI)

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks on Friday across northwestern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 20 security personnel and three civilians. As per news agency AFP, the coordinated assaults included a suicide bombing at a police training school in Dera Ismail Khan district, along with clashes in other districts bordering Afghanistan.Eleven paramilitary troops were killed in the Khyber district, while seven policemen died when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of the Dera Ismail Khan police training school, followed by an armed assault.“Seven police personnel were martyred and 13 were injured in the attack, while six terrorists were also killed,” Muhammad Hussain, a senior local police official, was quoted as saying by AFP.In Bajaur district, five people—including three civilians—were killed during clashes between militants and paramilitary forces, AFP reported. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attacks, saying, “Such cowardly acts by terrorists cannot shake our resolve against terrorism. We are determined to completely eliminate terrorism from the country.”Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of allowing militants to operate from its territory, a claim denied by Kabul. Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned, “Everyone will have to bear the consequences, including those providing the hideouts. Enough is enough”, adding that any response could cause collateral damage.Friday’s attacks reflect a surge in militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the US-led troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. As per news agency AP, the assault on the police training school in Ratta Kulachi on Friday involved heavy weapons and lasted nearly six hours. Around 200 recruits and trainers were inside during the attack, and officers returned fire, preventing mass casualties. Six militants were killed in the operation, along with the seizure of suicide vests, explosives, and weapons.Security forces have faced rising threats this year, with over 500 people, including 311 troops and 73 police officers, killed in militant attacks from January to mid-September, according to AFP. The TTP, though allied with the Afghan Taliban, operates independently and remains a major threat along Pakistan’s northwestern border.