Suicide bomber kills 14 outside police station in Swat Valley

At least 14 people, including police officers, were killed and more than 20 others wounded when a suicide bomber struck a protest outside a police station in the Swat Valley on August 2, 2026.

The attack took place in Kabal, a town in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where a crowd had gathered near a police station to protest militant activity and call for peace.

Omar Khan, the district police chief, said the bomber detonated explosives after officers tried to stop and search him at the entrance of the police station. The blast tore through the assembled crowd while the last speaker was addressing the gathering, sending panicked people fleeing the scene.

Umar Khan, the district police officer (DPO) for Swat, said security forces quickly cordoned off the area and launched an investigation into the assault. Emergency services and police were on the scene treating the wounded and securing the site.

Violent clashes and attacks are not uncommon in northwest Pakistan, where Pakistani Taliban militants, local tribal groups and other extremist or separatist organisations have battled security forces for years. Pakistani security units regularly carry out counterterrorism operations and raids in border districts near Afghanistan.

Footage and accounts of the explosion circulated on social media after the attack. Authorities said they were examining the available evidence as they continued their inquiry into the bombing.

Photo: press material from the event