At least 13 Pakistani troops were killed and 29 others, including civilians, were wounded after a suicide attacker crashed an explosives-laden car into a military convoy in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as reported on Saturday. A senior government officer in North Waziristan district said to local media that "A suicide bomber drove an explosive-packed vehicle into a convoy of soldiers. The explosion killed 13 soldiers, wounded 10 army men, and 19 civilians. A local police officer said the loud blast also blew the roofs off two adjacent houses, wounding six children. Four of the wounded soldiers are said to be in critical condition, an administrative officer said. The attack, which was deadly in its impact, was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, a faction affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Terror Attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

This recent suicide bombing is in the wake of a severe surge in terror attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent Balochistan province. Last month, the TTP declared a so-called "spring offensive" against Pakistani security forces, vowedto conduct ambushes, targeted assassinations, suicide bombings, and other attacks. The group, which operated under the name of a local commander, has since claimed responsibility for almost 100 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone. Between January and June, around 290 individuals, mainly security personnel, have been killed in militant attacks in both provinces, an AFP count showed.

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Taliban's Return to Power Linked to Rising Militancy

Attacks in Pakistan have picked up in large numbers since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Islamabad has consistently blamed the Taliban government in Kabul for sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to carry out cross-border raids on Pakistani territory. The Taliban government, though, refutes these claims. Rather, it accuses the neighboring country of harboring terrorist groups, such as the local branch of the Islamic State group, Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K).

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The country witnessed more than 1,600 fatalities due to terrorist attacks in the last year, the highest in nearly a decade, said Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). Almost half of the dead were part of Pakistan's security forces. The escalating violence has aggravated security fears and strained Islamabad's fragile relationship with Kabul. Pakistani authorities continue to call for the Taliban administration to respond with "decisive action" against the militant organizations using Afghan soil to plot and conduct attacks.