Suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces in the region in recent months. Among those killed was Diyar Khan, a senior police officer who led reinforcements to the scene, according to a provincial police statement on Thursday. Reinforcements dispatched to the scene were ambushed en route, damaging an armoured personnel carrier before officers fought back, according to the statement. The attack came days after a suicide ​bombing killed 15, including 12 Pakistani army soldiers in the nearby district of Tank. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies.