Two bomb attacks and a gunfight between police and militants in northwest Pakistan killed at least 11 security personnel and three civilians, including a child, a security official said.
The separate incidents yesterday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which left at least 25 others wounded, come as Pakistan's security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in southern and northern provinces that border Afghanistan.
This month the so-called Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a massive suicide blast at a Shia mosque in the capital Islamabad that killed at least 31 people, with 169 more wounded.
The security official said that yesterday evening, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a religious college in the tribal district of Bajaur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Eight police and Frontier Corps personnel inside were killed and ten other people were injured.
"The blast also caused the roofs of several nearby houses to collapse, killing a child," the official said.
In another attack in the town of Bannu, a bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded at the Miryan police station, killing two civilians and wounding 17 others, the official added.
Chinese targeted
Elsewhere, three police personnel and three militants were also killed during a search operation in Shangla district.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police force said in a statement that the three militants who died had been involved in "attacks targeting Chinese nationals".
China has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan in recent years, but Chinese-funded projects have sparked resentment, and their citizens have frequently come under attack.
In March last year, five Chinese nationals working on a major dam construction site were killed along with their driver when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle, which plunged into a deep ravine off the mountainous Karakoram Highway.
China is Pakistan's closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbour.
