Death toll in suicide bombings that killed Pakistani official who opposed Taliban rises to 18

Pakistani Army troops and rescue workers gather at the site of suicide bombing in Shadi Khan, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest from Pakistani capital, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the home of an anti-Taliban provincial minister, killing him and more than a dozen others in eastern Pakistan, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) (The Associated Press)

Pakistani rescue workers carry a dead body after recovering from the rubble at the site of suicide bombing in Shadi Khan, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest from Pakistani capital, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the home of an anti-Taliban provincial minister, killing him and more than a dozen others in eastern Pakistan, officials said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) (The Associated Press)

People attend a candlelit vigil to pay tribute to Punjab Provincial Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, who was killed Sunday in suicide attacks, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015, in Lahore, Pakistan. Police say the death toll in the twin suicide bombings that killed Khanzada, who opposed the Taliban in eastern Pakistan, has risen to at least 18. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) (The Associated Press)

Police say the death toll in the twin suicide bombings that killed a provincial official who opposed the Taliban in eastern Pakistan has risen to 18.

Police officer Murid Awan gave the death toll Monday for the attack that killed Punjab provincial home minister Shuja Khanzada. The attack Sunday targeted Khanzada in his hometown of Shadi Khan in Punjab province's Attock district.

Khanzada was a vocal public advocate for harsh government tactics against the militants. Last month, he announced feared Islamic militant Malik Ishaq, who was the chief of al-Qaida-linked Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, had been killed in a police shootout.

Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings, saying the attack was revenge for Ishaq's killing.