Pakistani Taliban Seize Police Center in Country's Northwest

A counterterrorism center in northwest Pakistan was overrun by several Taliban detainees overnight, as they snatched police weapons, took people hostage, and seized control of the facility, according to officials.

The incident erupted late Sunday and quickly evolved into a standoff. Pakistani officials later confirmed that one counter-terrorism officer was killed during the takeover at the detention center in Bannu, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and part of a former tribal region, ABC reported.

Police and the military scrambled to deploy troops and special forces to the area but by midday Monday, some 12 hours later, the hostage crisis was still ongoing. According to officials, at least 30 Taliban fighters were involved in the takeover and there were possibly as many as 10 hostages.

The brazen action reflected the government's inability to exercise control over the remote region along the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but also allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in the neighboring country last year as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from Afghanistan.

Few other details emerged about the takeover, which apparently happened while police were interrogating the Taliban detainees, according to Mohammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for the provincial government.

Saif said the place was surrounded and that officials were trying to negotiate with the hostage-takers. He said an operation was underway but did not elaborate.