A double bombing targeted police on Thursday killing up to 15 people and wounding 24 others, in the third attack against security personnel in the country's north-west in 24 hours. Two explosions, at least one caused by a suicide bomber, went off in quick succession outside a police training centre in Bannu town just as a patrol headed by local police chief Iqbal Marwat was returning, officials said.

"Iqbal Marwat is seriously injured. We are trying to arrange a helicopter to evacuate him to Peshawar. So far there are 15 dead," Doctor Hafeez told AFP by telephone from the local hospital, giving only one name. The dead include eight policemen, a child and six civilians, the doctor told AFP, having adjusted an earlier toll of 12 policemen.

Another 24 people were brought in wounded, including two children, and four of the wounded are in a critical condition, he added. There were scenes of panic in the hospital as medics struggled to cope with the numbers of victims, the doctor said. An AFP photographer said a curfew had been imposed in town after the attacks.

"There were two blasts. The first one was near the gate. The second was a suicide attack. We have confirmed reports it was a suicide attack," said Sardar Abbas, the city's senior administrator, putting the death toll at 13.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010