An ambush on a police checkpoint in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province resulted in the deaths of at least 11 police officers and injured dozens, according to local authorities. The attack occurred late on Wednesday, July 30, 2026, in the Hangu district near the Afghan border.

The assailants initially used explosive-laden quadcopters to target the police post before launching an ambush, as stated in a police report. Security forces engaged in an hours-long gun battle with the attackers, killing 15 of them while sustaining heavy casualties.

Among the police officers killed was Deputy Superintendent Diyar Khan, who had led reinforcements to the scene. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, noted a recent increase in attacks targeting police and security forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

This incident adds to ongoing violence in the region, including recent military reports of 42 deaths in fighter attacks in Balochistan.

Sources