Deadly blast in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa kills 16 soldiers

A suicide bombing, claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, resulted in the deaths of 16 soldiers and left over two dozen people injured, including civilians, according to statements from local government officials and police officers to AFP.

“A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,” said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He confirmed that 16 soldiers were killed, revising an earlier death toll of 13.

“The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,” a police officer posted in the district told AFP.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, which is linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan, a claim the Taliban denies.

Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing its territory to be used for launching attacks on Pakistan, an allegation that the Taliban continues to deny.

In February, four Pakistani security personnel were killed during a reported terror attack in the Spinwam tehsil of North Waziristan, according to Dawn, citing unnamed sources.

The incident occurred in the Darweshta area of Spinwam, where a heavy exchange of fire followed after the security forces responded, the report noted.

Four security personnel were killed, while two others sustained injuries. Those killed and injured were airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu. Dawn, citing sources, also reported that three attackers were killed in the confrontation.

Following the attack, the area was cordoned off by security forces.