Two powerful explosions hit a police station in Pakistan's northwest Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province late Monday, killing at least 10 people while injuring over 55 others, police and rescue officials said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Confirming the casualties, District Police Officer Shafiullah Gandapur told Xinhua that at least eight policemen were among the killed people in the twin blasts that occurred inside the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in the Kabal area of Swat district.
The official said that according to preliminary reports, it was a suicide attack. However, authorities are investigating the matter and collecting forensic evidence to ascertain the exact nature of the explosions, he added.
Police said that the CTD police station building has been completely destroyed due to the blasts, adding that the window panes of nearby buildings were also shattered due to the impact of the explosions.
Security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals in the district. A state of emergency has been imposed in all the hospitals in the district.
A rescue operation is being carried out to rescue the people trapped under the debris of the building.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Taking notice of the incident, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the incident and expressed grief over the loss of lives, and directed the authorities concerned to provide the injured with best medical assistance.
"The entire nation salutes the sacrifices... Security forces and the police will root out the menace of terrorism from the province," the prime minister said.