Explosions Kill 17 In Pakistan Counter-Terrorism Base In Swat Valley

At least 17 people have been killed in two explosions at a counter-terrorism office in north-west Pakistan,

Police said that there is no evidence of an attack and that it could have been as a result of an electrical fault igniting ammunition in the centre.

Most of the dead are police officers.

More than 50 people were injured and buildings have collapsed. Four of the dead are civilians.

A spokesman for provincial police in Khyber pakhtunkhwa, which neighbours Afghanistan, said that ammunition caught fire, “most probably due to an electric short-circuit”.

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Prime minister shehbaz Sharif initially called the blasts a “suicide attack”, but later tweeted that that “the nature of the blast is being investigated”.

Pakistani counter-terrorist forces maintain a strong presence in the valley, which has been prone to insurgency.

In 2012, Taliban militants also shot and wounded Nobel laureate malarial yousafzai in the valley.