• At least 14 police officers killed in a car bomb attack in Bannu, Pakistan.
• A militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen, claims responsibility for the attack.
• The attack involved a suicide bomber and armed fighters ambushing police responders.
• Rescue operations are ongoing, with emergency declared in local hospitals.
• This incident heightens ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militant activities.

A car bombing at a police post in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulted in the deaths of at least 14 police officers late Saturday. The attack involved a suicide bomber detonating an explosives-laden vehicle, which was followed by an ambush from additional militants at the scene, according to police officials and reports from various media outlets aljazeera, channelnewsasia, scmp, indiatimes, and bbc.

The militants' coordinated assault included detonating a vehicle at the police checkpoint, followed by further attacks on officers responding to the initial explosion. Police sources indicated that some officers were wounded during the ensuing shootout, while subsequent rescue operations pulled three officers alive from the rubble aljazeera, channelnewsasia, and bbc.

The attack has been claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen, a militant alliance linked to the Pakistani Taliban, suggesting a rising frequency of violent incidents in Pakistan. This group asserts it was formed by splinter factions from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been responsible for prior attacks scmp and indiatimes.

Following the violence, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the victims' families, reaffirming a commitment to combat terrorism bbc and scmp.