MIRAMSHAH A bomb planted on a bicycle killed 12 people in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, targeting police in the latest assault on security forces battling Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

At least one woman and a six-year-old girl were among nine civilians killed when the bomb exploded as a senior police officer drove through the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, officials said.

“We have received 12 dead bodies and 10 injured,” said Doctor Nasir Malik Akhtar, head of the casualty department at Dera Ismail Khan hospital, where he said medical staff had declared a state of emergency to cope with the victims.

Three policemen, including an officer named Iqbal Khan who led a particularly active drive against the Taliban, were killed in the attack.

Doctor Qibla Khan Mehsud said a couple and their six-year-old daughter were killed. “They appeared to be pedestrians,” he told AFP.

The Pakistani Taliban, which the United States accused of being involved in a failed plot to blow up Times Square in New York earlier this month, claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Iqbal Khan was so active against the Taliban. We planted that bomb and claim responsibility for this attack,” Azam Tariq, the main spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) told AFP by telephone.

“We will target all such people. These sorts of policemen are on our hit list,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location.

Police in Dera Ismail Khan said Khan recovered a stash of arms, ammunition, mortar shells and a suicide vest from a forest in the district in March.

“He also arrested several militants from his area,” Rahmatullah Khan, a police official in Dera Ismail Khan told AFP by telephone.

“We think this was the basic reason that he was targeted,” Khan said.