‘800 kg of explosives': How suicide blast hit military convoy in Pakistan's North Waziristan, killing 14 soldiers
At least 14 soldiers were killed and 25 others, including civilians, injured in a suicide car bombing in northwest Pakistan's North Waziristan district on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest recent attacks in the region. At least 14 soldiers killed in suicide car bombing in Pakistan's North Waziristan.(Representational image/AFP File)
The blast struck a military vehicle around lunchtime in Khadi village, despite a curfew that had been imposed in the area to facilitate the movement of security forces.
An initial probe found that approximately 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds) of explosives were used in the bombing, causing severe damage to several nearby houses, according to the news agency Associated Press.
Among the injured were 15 soldiers and 10 civilians, including children. However, Pakistan's military, in its official account, put the death toll at 13 soldiers and reported that three civilians had been wounded, the report added.
Footage from the scene showed children with bandages lying near shattered glass and debris inside damaged structures. Pakistani Taliban faction Hafiz Gul Bahadur group claims responsibility
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the attack occurred, is home to several banned militant organisations that frequently target security personnel.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of offering safe haven to these groups, a charge Afghanistan denies.
Earlier this year, security analyst Abdullah Khan called the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction as 'more lethal' than the Pakistani Taliban, noting its ongoing rivalry with the main group.
Khan, managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, had also warned of a resurgence in activity by groups such as Lashkar-e-Islam, which operates out of the region and has contributed to rising militant violence in the country.
Earlier in December 2023, at least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed after militants linked to a Pakistani Taliban affiliate rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a security forces' post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
With AP inputs
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump defends Netanyahu over corruption trial
Donald Trump has criticized prosecutors in Israel regarding Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial. Trump stated that the US, a major aid provider to Israel, would not tolerate the situation. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges, which he denies. The court rejected a request to delay Netanyahu's testimony. He is scheduled to testify soon. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads US President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to "stand for this".Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal Friday, the court rejected a request by Netanyahu's lawyers to delay his testimony for the next two weeks because of diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month. He is due to take the stand on Monday for cross examination. AFP
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Sinha promises jobs to eligible kin of all Kashmiri civilians killed by terrorists within 30 days
SRINAGAR: An eligible unemployed member of each "unacknowledged" Kashmiri household that lost someone to terrorist bullets over the past three decades will get a govt job within 30 days, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha promised Sunday during an outreach in south Kashmir's Anantnag involving over 80 such families. Sinha's directive to deputy commissioners to process pending job applications on priority and register FIRs in 'buried' cases of Kashmiri civilians being targeted is part of a broader initiative to reshape the narrative around J&K's 40,000-odd casualties in violence since Pakistan-backed terrorism turned the Valley into a killing field. "It's shocking that prior to 2019, terrorists' funeral processions were allowed while thousands of common Kashmiris killed by terrorists remained unacknowledged," Sinha said at the event, organised by Save Youth, Save Future Foundation. 'For years, truth was kept hidden under pressure from the terror ecosystem.' He said cases against the perpetrators of such killings would be pursued to their logical end, "whether they are in Kashmir or hiding in Pakistan". Sinha also announced that the Union govt would reclaim properties belonging to victims' families that had been encroached upon by "terrorist sympathisers or separatist elements". "It's a historic step to finally recognise and honour the thousands of innocent civilians in Kashmir who were brutally killed by Pakistani terrorists. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Reportingly Undo For decades, these families were marginalised. Justice was denied. Their pain was ignored, their stories untold, and the truth deliberately suppressed. Hundreds of families have gained strength and support to say their loved ones were killed by Pakistani terrorists," he said. Families from Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian districts, where dozens of terrorist attacks on security forces and civilians have been reported over the years, attended the event. Besides offering jobs to eligible applicants, the lieutenant governor assured financial assistance and expert handholding to those wanting to start businesses. A Raj Bhavan statement said many families spoke to the lieutenant governor about 'decades of false propaganda and Pakistan's role in fuelling terrorism in the Kashmir Valley'.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 37, including children
Gaza: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 37 people in the devastated territory on Saturday, including at least nine children who died in strikes. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP 35 people were killed in seven Israeli drone and air strikes in various locations, and two others by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza. He said the dead included three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza. Bassal said at least six more children died in a neighbourhood in the northeast of Gaza City, including some in an air strike near a school where displaced people were sheltering. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment by Saturday evening. As international criticism mounted over civilian deaths in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Saturday that his country "stands ready, Europe as well, to contribute to the safety of food distribution" in Gaza. Such an initiative, he added, would also deal with Israeli concerns that armed groups such as Hamas were intercepting the aid. Live Events
