At least 14 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a suicide bombing outside Kabal police station in Pakistan’s Swat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Sunday afternoon. The explosion occurred while hundreds of people were protesting recent militant activity in the Swat valley, according to local sources cited by Pakistani media outlet Dawn.

Swat Deputy Inspector General Fida Hussain said the attacker detonated an explosive vest worn on his body, killing four police officers. District Police Officer Umar Khan said officers tried to stop and search the suspect at the entrance to Kabal police station before he activated the explosives, causing a powerful blast at the scene.

Security forces quickly cordoned off the area, issued maximum alert measures, and continued investigating the motive and those involved. No group had claimed responsibility. Earlier Sunday, an IED blast near a toll plaza on the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway injured two police officers. A security assessment said 154 people were killed in attacks and violent incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, excluding merged districts, during July, compared with 75 in June.