An armed group assaulted a military outpost in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, employing a vehicle packed with explosives and suicide bombers. The attack resulted in the deaths of seven security personnel, as reported by Pakistan’s military.
Responding troops in North Waziristan, a district in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, neutralized six attackers, some of whom were wearing suicide vests, according to the military statement.
While the military did not specify the assailants, a recently formed group, Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad, claimed responsibility for the assault.
“The terrorists rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the outpost, followed by multiple suicide bombing attacks, which led to the collapse of a portion of a building,” causing the deaths of five security personnel, the military stated. Additionally, two security force members died in subsequent clashes with the attackers.
A clearance operation was underway in the area.
Residents informed Reuters that doors shook and windows were damaged during the assault.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and honored the troops who were “martyred.”
North Waziristan was previously a hub for the Pakistani Taliban and other factions until the army declared it cleared of rebel groups a few years ago. Despite this, sporadic attacks have persisted, prompting concerns of a resurgence of the Pakistani Taliban in the region.
Although distinct, the Pakistani Taliban are allied with the Afghan Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were completing their withdrawal.
