Suicide Blast Kills at Least 8 in Northwest Pakistan

A suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, on Saturday, October 26, resulting in at least eight fatalities and several injuries, VOA reported yesterday.

Among the deceased are two soldiers, four police officers, and two civilians. The bomber detonated a motorbike rickshaw loaded with explosives, injuring five additional security personnel, some of whom are reported to be in critical condition.

The attack was claimed by militants associated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), occurring shortly after clashes in the region that left 16 Pakistani security force members dead. This incident highlights a troubling increase in TTP-led violence, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where over 1,000 lives have been lost in 2024, half of them security personnel.

Despite Islamabad’s claims that the TTP operates from bases in Afghanistan, the Taliban government in Kabul has denied the presence of such groups on its soil. The TTP is designated as a global terrorist organization by the United Nations and the U.S.