5 Policemen Killed At Pakistan’s Punjab-KP Border Post, TTP Claims ‘Missile Strike’ | Exclusive

Last Updated:June 15, 2026, 13:38 IST

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a ‘missile strike’ carried out using its newly launched ‘Al-Farooq’ missile.

Five policemen were killed and eight others injured after an explosives-laden vehicle struck the Jhangi police check-post near the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab border in Pakistan’s Dera Ghazi Khan district, officials said.

According to police, the vehicle was carrying a load of wood, beneath which the explosives are suspected to have been concealed. The blast destroyed a section of the check-post’s outer wall and left the vehicle buried under the debris.

Investigators have not yet determined whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or whether the vehicle was remotely detonated. The wreckage remains trapped beneath the rubble, hampering efforts to establish the precise nature of the explosion.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a “missile strike" carried out using its newly launched ‘Al-Farooq’ missile.

Officials, however, have not confirmed the TTP’s claim and are examining whether a missile was used or the explosion was caused by the explosives-laden vehicle.

The TTP has made similar claims following large-scale attacks in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and, more recently, in Bajaur district. Investigators are now examining whether the Dera Ghazi Khan attack followed the same operational pattern.

Attack Comes Days After Pakistan Struck TTP Targets In Afghanistan

The attack comes days after Pakistan carried out overnight air strikes on alleged TTP hideouts in Afghanistan, claiming that 26 militants were killed in the operation. Kabul, however, said the strikes hit civilian homes and caused multiple casualties.

Pakistan said the strikes were conducted in response to a series of recent militant attacks, including an assault on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, vehicle-borne suicide attacks on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2 and an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9.

Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said “precise and calibrated strikes" had targeted hideouts and safe havens used by the planners and masterminds of attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad refers to the banned TTP as “Fitna-al-Khawarij".

According to Tarar, four targets were destroyed, including a training centre, a hideout, an ammunition cache and a hub linked to TTP commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.

The Afghan Taliban government disputed Pakistan’s account and accused Islamabad of violating Afghan airspace and bombing civilian homes in Kunar, Khost and Paktika provinces.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that 11 children, a woman and an elderly man were killed, while 14 women and children were injured.

The strikes reflected the continuing deterioration in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing the TTP to operate from Afghan territory, an allegation Kabul has denied.

The latest escalation also came as China was attempting to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul and ease tensions along their shared border.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been involved in several rounds of fighting since October last year. In February, Islamabad said it was in an “open war" with Afghanistan after Pakistani forces carried out strikes in response to what they described as a cross-border attack by the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan claimed that more than 270 Taliban fighters were killed and over 400 injured in those strikes. Afghanistan, in turn, said its forces had killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and struck military targets inside Pakistan.

The two sides announced a temporary pause in fighting on March 18 for Eid-ul-Fitr following requests from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

Tensions had first escalated sharply in October, when Pakistan shut the border after clashes triggered by Islamabad’s allegation that Kabul was failing to prevent militants from using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,611-kilometre border known as the Durand Line, which successive Afghan governments have not formally recognised.

About the Author

Manoj Gupta

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

News world 5 Policemen Killed At Pakistan’s Punjab-KP Border Post, TTP Claims ‘Missile Strike’ | Exclusive

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