A suicide bomber killed five Pakistani policemen in an attack on a police station in a region beset by Taliban attacks.

A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a police station in the district of Hangu in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Five policemen were killed in the attack, and 25 more were wounded, Geo News reported. The death toll may rise, as more policemen are feared to be trapped in the rubble.

The Taliban later claimed the attack, and promised more. “We will continue our attacks against security forces,” Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan told The Associated Press.

The Taliban previously targeted police in Hangu in a suicide attack on March 8, when a bomber detonated his car at a checkpoint, killing four policemen and five civilians. The Taliban also blew up a bus on Jan. 17, killing 17 people. In addition, the Taliban have carried out several other small-scale ambushes and IED attacks against security forces in the district.

The Taliban have stepped up terror attacks against civilian and military targets in the districts and tribal agencies near Peshawar, the provincial capital, since the beginning of January.

Commander Tariq Afridi is the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in Hangu, as well as in regions in Peshawar, Kohat, Arakzai, and Khyber. Afridi was named the terror group’s commander of Khyber in November 2009. He is also the leader of the Commander Tariq Afridi Group. This Taliban outfit is considered the most powerful terror group in Arakzai, and is based in Darra Adam Khel. The Tariq Afridi Group conducts attacks on Pakistani security forces in Arakzai, Kohat, and Hangu. His fighters were responsible for closing down the Kohat Tunnel twice in 2008, as well as several attacks against the tunnel earlier this year.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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