MIRANSHAH, Oct 17: Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and 13 others injured in a ‘coordinated suicide attack’ on an army camp in Mir Ali, near the Afghan border, officials confirmed on Friday.
According to police investigation, the assault began when a suicide car bomber linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the compound. The blast triggered a fierce gunfight in which three TTP fighters were killed.
The resultant suicide explosion caused significant damage to nearby homes, and videos from the scene showed thick black smoke billowing into the air, charring some of the nearby ground.
The TTP formally claimed responsibility of the attack, confirming that its Khalid bin Waleed suicide unit and Tehreek Taliban Gulbahadar carried out the attacks.
The attack comes in wake of a very fragile 48 hour truce along the Durand Line between the Pakistan military and the Afghan Taliban, following a week of intense cross-border clashes, killing dozens of fighters on both sides of the border.
The ceasefire, agreed upon on Wednesday evening, was reached at the request of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan’s Foreign Office claimed.
According to Islamabad, the Pakistan Army deployed attack helicopters and paramilitary as heavy clashes continued in the area.
Security officials describing the recent attack as being one of the most serious armed offensives by militant groups in North Waziristan in the past few months, underscoring the ever-growing security threat along the volatile frontier.
The TTP has been an active security threat in the frontier regions, being heavily active in the frontier regions of the country, particularly entrenched in KPK, and has carried out numerous deadly attacks on security forces in the last few years.
In a separate incident, a powerful explosion shook the Mamund Tangi Shah area of Bajaur, reportedly caused by a roadside vehicle packed with explosives.
No casualties have been confirmed, and security forces have sealed off the site to investigate any possible TTP or related separatist connections.
(UNI)
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