Latest news with #KhyberPakhtunkhwa
Al Arabiya
25 minutes ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Suicide attack kills 16 soldiers in Pakistan: Sources
A suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed 16 soldiers and wounded more than two dozen people, including civilians, local government officials and police officers told AFP. 'A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,' said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He said 16 soldiers were killed, raising a previous death toll of 13. 'The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,' a police officer posted in the district told AFP. The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban. Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan – a claim the Taliban denies. Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
16 killed, dozens injured in Pakistan suicide bombing: police
A suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed 16 soldiers and wounded more than two dozen people, including civilians, local government officials and police officers said. Advertisement 'A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,' said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. He said 16 soldiers were killed, raising the previous death toll of 13. 'The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,' a police officer posted in the district told reporters. The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban. Advertisement Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan – a claim the Taliban denies.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Suicide attack kills 13 soldiers in Pakistan's northwest — officials
PESHAWAR: A suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed 13 soldiers and wounded 29 people, including civilians, local government officials and police officers told AFP. 'A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. The blast killed 13 soldiers, injured 10 army personnel and 19 civilians,' said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. 'The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,' a police officer posted in the district told AFP. The condition of four injured soldiers is critical, an administrative official added. The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban. Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban deny. Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Rescuers search for three missing persons 24 hours after flash floods in Pakistan's Swat
ISLAMABAD: Rescuers are still searching for three people who were swept away by flash floods in the Swat river in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, an official said on Saturday, 24 hours after the tragic incident. Flooding in the river swept away 17 people early Friday, of which three were rescued, according to KP Rescue 1122 officials. The victims and survivors were tourists who reportedly hailed from Punjab and KP provinces. The operation to find the three missing persons has been ongoing for the last 24 hours, according to Shah Fahad, director-general of the provincial rescue service. 'Rescue 1122 operation is currently underway in different areas of Swat, including Khwaza Khela, Kabal Bypass and Barikot,' Fahad said in a statement. 'More than 120 personnel of Rescue 1122 are engaged in relief activities.' Flooding in the province has also damaged 56 houses, six of which were destroyed, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority said on Friday. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that the risk of heavy rains and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday. The ongoing spell of rains has also killed nearly a dozen people in the eastern Punjab province and delayed the arrival and departure of trains in Sindh province in the south. Babar Raza, a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways, told Arab News the weather conditions had affected the railway signaling system, while the speed of trains had also been deliberately reduced for the sake of passenger safety. 'As a result, some trains are reaching their destinations with a delay of three to four hours,' he said. 'No trains have been canceled so far.' Pakistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million inhabitants are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency. Last month, at least 24 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms.
Times of Oman
an hour ago
- Climate
- Times of Oman
Pakistan: Flash floods kill 11 amid heavy rain warning
Flash floods in Pakistan's northwest mountanious province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have killed 11 people, including four children, the country's disaster management officials said. "In the past 24 hours, flash floods and landslides have claimed the lives of 11 people — including four children and three women — while six others have been injured," the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said in a report released late Friday. One person was killed in the Malakand district while the 10 others were killed in the Swat Valley, according to the report. Local media reported that families had been swept away and that the flooding had damaged 56 houses along the Swat river. Pakistan's local daily newspaper Dawn reported that rescue operations were underway in several other districts with people trapped in the water. Meanwhile the national meterological department warned of heavy rainfall and a possibility of more flash floods until Tuesday. Pakistan and climate change Pakistan is among the world's more vulnerable countries to the effect of climate change with an increasing frequency of flash floods and other climate-related events impacting its 240 million inhabitants. In May, some 24 people were killed in severe storms in Pakistan. In August 2022, a third of the country was flooded due to unprecedented monsoon rainfall with more than 33 million people affected. Scientists from across the globe have since said that the climate crisis was to blame and that rising global temperatures will only make monsoons more intense in future. Pakitsan continues to 'sleepwalk' on climate change — former minister Pakistan's former climate change minister Sherry Rehman took to X, saying that the nation continued to "sleepwalk" on climate change and the threat it posed. She pointed to regular alerts issued by the national disaster management agency and said that local authorities had failed to take them seriously. "Not only did the provincial administration fail to understand the magnitude of the crisis, I keep repeating, so did denialist tourists. This is endemic to a system that thinks that climate change can just be put on a back burner, or that crises will not multiply in scale and intensity," she wrote. "These are not "natural disasters" which absolve all actors of responsibility, local, national and global. Super monsoons and flash floods are not the norm. They have been intensifying for decades," she added, urging the country to "wake up" the to the issue.
