A newly surfaced video has captured the deadly moment a Pakistani police armoured vehicle was destroyed in a targeted bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, killing seven personnel. The footage, circulating online, shows the patrol vehicle being struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Tank district before armed militants opened fire on injured officers lying on the road.

The attack is among the deadliest recent assaults on security forces in Pakistan’s northwest, where violence has surged in recent months. 

Militants seen targeting patrol convoy

The video depicts members of a special Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-linked unit carrying out the ambush. The group is seen detonating a remote-controlled explosive as the police vehicle passes, flipping the armoured carrier onto its side and reducing it to mangled metal. Moments later, militants appear to shoot at officers incapacitated by the blast.

Authorities said the vehicle was on routine patrol when the strike occurred.

Police confirm casualties and identities

Tank’s deputy police chief, Pervez Shah, told reporters that five officers died instantly in the explosion, while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital. According to officials, the victims included a Station House Officer, a Sub-Inspector, three members of the Elite Force, and the vehicle’s driver.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the fallen, saying, "The brave policemen sacrificed their today for the peaceful future of the nation."

Rising violence in Pakistan’s Northwest

The bombing comes amid a sharp increase in militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with police and security personnel being the primary targets. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering TTP operatives, alleging the group uses Afghan territory to plot cross-border strikes. Kabul has rejected the claims, insisting Pakistan’s security issues stem from internal failures.

The incident also unfolds as Pakistan and Afghanistan attempt to maintain a tenuous truce following deadly border clashes in October last year–the worst fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban takeover in 2021.