Pakistani officials say at least 16 police recruits were killed Sunday by a suicide bomber in the Swat Valley, the deadliest attack since the military said it took control of the area from Taliban militants.
Provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain tells VOA that volunteers for a new police force were training near a police station in the main city Mingora when the bomber approached and detonated a blast.
The attack on the police came as Pakistan's military continued its offensive against militants in the Swat Valley.
The army said it killed at least 14 militants Sunday in operations near the town of Charbagh.
On Friday, the military announced it had destroyed a training camp for suicide bombers in the Swat Valley. Six militants were reported killed in that operation.