Deadly Suicide Attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Four Police Officers Among the Victims

A suicide bombing at a checkpoint in North Waziristan, Pakistan, resulted in the deaths of at least eight people, including four police personnel, and left five others injured. The attack occurred on Saturday in the Mir Ali area, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

The suicide bomber detonated the explosives while riding on a motorbike rickshaw, as reported by a local police officer. Among the deceased were four police officers, two members of a paramilitary force, and two civilians. The injured individuals, three of whom are in critical condition, have been transported to a nearby military hospital for medical attention.

The recent attack follows another incident a day earlier when ten police officers were killed at a check post near the Afghan border in Dera Ismail Khan district. In that attack, a group of 20 to 25 militants targeted a police assistance force known as the Frontier Constabulary. The Pakistani Taliban, also referred to as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for that incident.

Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has experienced a notable increase in terrorist activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan. This month, security forces in North Waziristan have successfully neutralized about a dozen militants as part of their ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

A report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) indicates that violence has escalated sharply in 2024, with fatalities rising by 90% in the third quarter alone. Total fatalities this year have reached 722, exceeding the total for all of 2023, with a staggering 97% occurring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, marking the highest levels of violence in a decade.

In response to the bombing, security forces have cordoned off the affected area, and efforts to evacuate the injured and recover the deceased are ongoing. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has condemned the attack and extended condolences to the victims' families.

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