Suicide car bomb kills 13 soldiers in Pakistan, injures dozens

A suicide car bomb attack targeting a military convoy in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district has left 13 soldiers dead and 29 others injured, including civilians and children.

According to a local government source, “A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. The blast killed 13 soldiers, injured 10 army personnel and 19 civilians.” The official requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly.

The powerful explosion caused extensive damage in the surrounding area, including the collapse of two residential rooftops, injuring six children, a district police officer told AFP.

An administrative official noted that four of the injured soldiers are in critical condition.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group — a faction linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.

The attack adds to a growing wave of violence in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan. Since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021, Islamabad has accused Afghanistan’s leadership of allowing militant groups to operate across the border — an allegation that the Taliban government has consistently denied.

So far this year, armed groups have carried out attacks that have claimed the lives of approximately 290 people, most of whom were members of the security forces, across the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to AFP data.