A suicide attack attributed to the Pakistani Taliban resulted in the deaths of 16 soldiers and injuries to over two dozen individuals, including civilians, according to local government officials and police officers who spoke to AFP.
A local government official in the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province reported that a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. The official requested anonymity due to a lack of authorization to speak to the media.
According to his statement, the number of soldiers killed has risen to 16, an increase from the earlier reported toll of 13.
A police officer in the district reported to AFP, “The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children.”
A suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Since the Taliban regained control in Kabul in 2021, Pakistan has experienced a significant increase in violence along its borders with Afghanistan. Islamabad has accused its western neighbor of permitting its territory to be utilized for assaults against Pakistan, a charge that the Taliban has refuted.
Since the beginning of the year, approximately 290 individuals, primarily security personnel, have lost their lives in assaults carried out by armed groups opposing the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as reported by an AFP count.
