Police officer killed as suicide bomber detonates explosive vest at mosque in northwest Pakistan
Pakistani police say a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest inside a roadside mosque when a police officer tried to arrest him after a chase in northwestern Pakistan, killing the officer
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a roadside mosque when a police officer tried to arrest him after a chase in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border on Tuesday, killing the officer, police said.
It was unclear whether any worshippers were at the mosque when the bombing took place in Khyber, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, police official Saleem Khan said.
The mosque collapsed because of the impact of the explosion, Khan said.
He said no worshippers were inside the mosque when the suspect went there to hide.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in militant violence since last year when the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, ended a months-long cease-fire with the government.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban. They have become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.