NEW DELHI: In a tragic incident in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, a roadside bomb targeted a security convoy, resulting in the loss of two soldiers‘ lives and leaving 15 others wounded, according to officials.
The attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which was previously a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.Inayat Ullah, the head of the police bomb disposal unit in the region, confirmed the incident.
Though no group has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, suspicion naturally points towards the Pakistani Taliban, given their history of targeting security forces in the region. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has notably escalated its activities following the rise of the Afghan Taliban to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Earlier this week, Pakistan conducted airstrikes targeting Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, prompting condemnations from Kabul. Pakistan asserts that Afghanistan’s Taliban administration is providing refuge to Pakistani Taliban militants along the porous border. However, the Afghan Taliban government maintains that it does not permit its territory to be used for violence against any other country.
Meanwhile, on the same day, security forces carried out an operation in Panjgur, a district in the volatile southwestern province of Baluchistan, resulting in the death of an insurgent commander and injuries to two others, as per a statement from the military.
This operation followed a previous engagement wherein Pakistani security forces thwarted an attack by the Baluchistan Liberation Army on a government building near the Chinese-funded Gwadar port. During the hours-long exchange of fire, eight insurgents were killed, but tragically, three security personnel also lost their lives in the confrontation.
(With inputs from agencies)
The attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which was previously a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.Inayat Ullah, the head of the police bomb disposal unit in the region, confirmed the incident.
Though no group has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, suspicion naturally points towards the Pakistani Taliban, given their history of targeting security forces in the region. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has notably escalated its activities following the rise of the Afghan Taliban to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Earlier this week, Pakistan conducted airstrikes targeting Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, prompting condemnations from Kabul. Pakistan asserts that Afghanistan’s Taliban administration is providing refuge to Pakistani Taliban militants along the porous border. However, the Afghan Taliban government maintains that it does not permit its territory to be used for violence against any other country.
Meanwhile, on the same day, security forces carried out an operation in Panjgur, a district in the volatile southwestern province of Baluchistan, resulting in the death of an insurgent commander and injuries to two others, as per a statement from the military.
This operation followed a previous engagement wherein Pakistani security forces thwarted an attack by the Baluchistan Liberation Army on a government building near the Chinese-funded Gwadar port. During the hours-long exchange of fire, eight insurgents were killed, but tragically, three security personnel also lost their lives in the confrontation.
(With inputs from agencies)