12 cops killed in bomb blast at police station in Pakistan’s Swat

Pakistan,Apr 25 :  At least 12 police officers were killed and more than 40 people were injured in explosions at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Pakistan’s Swat on Monday, Geo TV reported, quoting the police.

Two blasts inside the police station destroyed the building, the police said.

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Security officials were on “high alert” throughout the province, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan. CTD DIG Khalid Sohail told Geo News that the blast was “not a suicide attack” and the explosion took place at a place where ammunition and mortar shells were stored. He said there was no attack or firing on the police station.

He added that the cause of the explosion is being investigated and bomb disposal squads are at the site of the explosion to probe the case. The CTD DIG said the building that collapsed was an old one and most offices and personnel were located in a newer building.

The building’s collapse caused a power outage, the extent of which was yet to be determined, he added.

Meanwhile, the provincial health department imposed a state of emergency at hospitals in Swat.

Earlier, District Police Officer Shafi Ullah Gandapur (DPO) claimed that a “suicide attack” had taken place. Reacting to the claims of the attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had condemned the blast and expressed his grief over the lives lost.

He also directed authorities to submit a report regarding the incident, said Geo News, quoting Radio Pakistan.

-PTI