Eight killed in suicide bombing targeting police picket in Pakistan

At least eight people, including six law enforcement officers, were killed and many others injured on Saturday in a suicide bombing targeting a police picket in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to sources, the blast took place at Aslam Check Post in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

While riding on three-wheelers, the bombers hit the checkpoint and security forces vehicles, killing four police personnel, two soldiers and two civilians.

The injured were taken to a local hospital. According to sources, the number of victims could rise.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the area was cordoned off by security forces.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack.

“The sacrifices of the security forces in the war against terror would be long remembered. Activities against terrorist groups would continue unabated until they are completely eliminated from the region,” he said.

In recent times, Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in terrorist activities. About a dozen militants were eliminated this month by security forces in North Waziristan district during counter-terrorism operations.

On Thursday, 10 security personnel were killed and three others injured when militants attacked their checkpoint in the province’s Dera Ismail Khan district.

Since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul in 2021, the number of terrorist incidents in Pakistan has increased.

The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

Most terror incidents are reported in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both bordering the neighboring country.

A report published earlier this month by Islamabad-based think tank Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said there will be a sharp increase in fatalities due to terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns in the third quarter of 2024 , with a 90 percent increase in fatalities. violence in the country.

The total number of fatalities in three quarters of this year surpassed the numbers in all of 2023, with 722 deaths, including civilians, security personnel and bandits.

Nearly 97 percent of these fatalities occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan – the highest percentage in a decade.