• At least seven police officers were killed in a coordinated militant attack on a training center.
• Security forces engaged militants, killing all five attackers in a five-hour operation.
• Increased violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has raised concerns about Afghanistan's involvement.

The Pakistani military reported that at least seven policemen were killed during a coordinated militant attack on a police training center in the Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attackers, belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), utilized heavy weapons and ramming an explosive-laden vehicle into the facility's main gate, leading to significant casualties among police personnel, with reports indicating as many as 13 injured, according to India Times and South China Morning Post.

Following the assault, Pakistani security forces launched a five-hour retaliatory operation that resulted in the deaths of all five militants involved in the attack. Officials confirmed that the operation recovered ammunition and suicide jackets from the assailants. However, the operation's aftermath saw an increase in the death toll of security officers, with reports suggesting more than six fatalities due to sustained gunfire during the incident, based on information from AA and TRT World.

This incident adds to the growing wave of violence faced by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with noted increases in militant activity since 2021. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harboring TTP militants, allowing them to regroup and execute attacks within Pakistan, a claim denied by the Afghan government. The Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi highlighted the urgent need for enhanced counter-terrorism operations amidst these escalating threats, per information from AA and TRT Global.