North Waziristan, Pakistan — At least 13 people, including soldiers, have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing targeting a military convoy in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials confirmed.
The deadly attack occurred on Saturday in Khadi Market, Mir Ali, North Waziristan, an area plagued by years of militancy near the Afghan border.
Security officials said the attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a military convoy, detonating the explosives near a bomb disposal unit vehicle.
According to reports by local outlet Khyber Chronicles and security sources, 13 people were killed while 24 others — including 14 civilians — sustained injuries. The blast also caused the roofs of two nearby houses to collapse, injuring six children, police said.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. The Pakistani military has not issued an official statement.
Spike in Cross-Border Militancy
The attack marks one of the deadliest single-day assaults on security forces in recent months. Violence has surged in Pakistan’s northwestern regions since the Taliban regained power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of harbouring armed groups that launch attacks across the border — an allegation Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies.
According to an AFP tally, approximately 290 people — mostly security personnel — have been killed in militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces since the start of 2024.
The ongoing violence has raised concerns about deteriorating security along Pakistan’s western frontier and the resurgence of extremist groups emboldened by instability in Afghanistan.
By Were Kelly
