Deadly suicide bombing kills 16 Pakistani soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed and more than two dozen others wounded, including civilians, in a suicide bombing on Saturday in the restive North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

According to the Khyber Chronicles news outlet, which cited security sources, the attack targeted a military convoy passing through Khadi Market in the town of Mir Ali, Caliber.Az reports.

A suicide bomber reportedly rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy belonging to the Pakistan Army’s 22nd Frontier Force Regiment, specifically striking a bomb disposal unit.

"A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy," a local government official told reporters on condition of anonymity, confirming the death toll had risen to 16 soldiers from an initial count of 13.

A police officer stationed in the district told media that the explosion also caused the roofs of two nearby houses to collapse, injuring six children. In total, at least 24 people were wounded in the blast, including 14 civilians.

The attack was later claimed by a faction of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned militant group that has intensified its operations in recent months.

So far, the Pakistan Army has not issued an official statement on the incident.

The blast marks one of the deadliest single-day attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months and comes amid a surge in violence in Pakistan’s northwestern regions. The military has ramped up intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following recent attacks in Waziristan, Khyber, and Kurram districts.

Islamabad continues to accuse the TTP — allegedly operating from across the Afghan border — of carrying out cross-border attacks on Pakistani soil. Kabul, however, has repeatedly denied that Afghan territory is being used as a launchpad for such operations.

Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has seen a significant rise in militant violence along its western border. This year alone, more than 290 people — primarily security personnel — have been killed in attacks by armed groups operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

By Tamilla Hasanova