Islamabad:
At least 15 policemen were killed and over 25 others injured when a suicide bomber struck a police station in Pakistan's troubled northwestern Swat valley on Sunday.
The bomber climbed over a wall and entered a ground in the police station in Mingora, the main city in Swat district, where about 60 personnel were being trained, and blew himself up.
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain informed about the casualty. Other officials said more than 25 personnel were also injured.
Personnel of a special police force, comprising members of the local community and retired army men, were being trained at the police station.
Policemen deployed at several check posts near the police station started firing after the blast, causing shops in nearby markets to shut down.
The firing continued for some time.
The police station is located at Nishat Chowk, a busy square where a large number of people were present. Curfew was imposed in Mingora soon after the blast.
This was the third suicide attack on the police station. The attack occurred despite security forces in Mingora being on high alert.