At least 14 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, a rescue group and a regional police official said, as the country battles widening insurgencies.

The explosion took place in the Kabal area of Swat, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A pro-police rally of local residents was taking place in the same area on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear whether the rally was the intended target.

Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the victims included five police officers and eight civilians. The 14th person was believed to be the suicide bomber, he told Reuters.

At least 18 people were wounded, according to a police statement. It said an operation had been launched to arrest anyone who may have assisted the attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group in a statement claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in a statement expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the suicide blast".

Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting mainly the military and police.

The Pakistani government blames the Afghan Taliban for the escalation, accusing it of providing support to the militants. The Taliban government has denied the accusations. (Reuters)



Edited by Cecil Wong