Pakistani police say two blasts at an anti-terror facility killed at least 12 people" title="Pakistani police say two blasts at an anti-terror facility killed at least 12 people" />

Twin blasts on Monday at a counter-terrorism police facility in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 12 people and wounded at least 50, police said.

Senior police officer Ataullah Khan said an initial blast at the facility in Swat Valley district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was followed by a larger and more intense one.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but in recent months, the Pakistani Taliban have claimed similar attacks after ending a ceasefire with the government last year.

Khan said part of the building collapsed and rescue workers recovered three bodies and 30 of the injured. He said the death toll could rise.

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The police complex also houses the Kabal City police station and the headquarters of a reserve police force, but the main damage was done to the counter-terrorism department building, Khan said.

The picturesque Swat Valley had once been the stronghold of Islamic militants who imposed strict Sharia rule there until a massive military operation in 2007 wiped out the militants and restored normalcy.

The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a group separate from but linked to the Afghan Taliban.

The TTP has been buoyed since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, as US and NATO troops were leaving the country after 20 years of war. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over.

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