At least 13 individuals were killed, and over 50 were wounded when two explosions occurred in a counter-terrorism ammunition depot in northwest Pakistan, according to police. The explosions struck the counter-terrorism office in the Swat Valley, which had formerly been under the control of Islamist militants before being cleared out in a military operation in 2009, according to provincial police Chief Akhtar Hayat.

According to a statement from his spokesman, it is believed that ammunition caught fire, most likely as a result of an electrical short circuit, and there is currently no evidence of an external attack. The valley has a history of insurgency, and Pakistani police and military have a significant presence of counter-terrorism personnel in the area.

In 2012, militants shot and wounded Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai in the scenic valley, which is the birthplace of Mullah Fazlullah, the former chief of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed in an airstrike in neighboring Afghanistan in 2018. While other aspects of the explosions are still under investigation, a spokesman stated that the ammunition caught fire, most likely due to an electric short-circuit, and there is no evidence of an external attack so far. According to Provincial police Chief Akhtar Hayat, most of the victims were police counter-terrorism officers, and a woman and her child passing by the building were also killed. Regional chief of the counter-terrorism department Sohail Khalid stated to reporters that the explosions did not seem to be a suicide attack or any other form of terrorism.

"We had a large store of weapons, and currently, we suspect that there might have been a blast due to some negligence," he stated, while also stating that "we are exploring all possible explanations."

According to hospital administration, several wounded people were received for treatment, some of whom were in critical condition.