A suicide bombing targeting a military convoy in Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan district has killed 13 soldiers and wounded at least 29 others, including army personnel and civilians, officials confirmed on Friday.
The attack occurred in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan. According to a senior local government official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a passing military convoy. The resulting blast killed 13 soldiers on the spot, injured 10 others, and wounded 19 civilians.
Police sources in the region told AFP that the explosion was powerful enough to damage nearby homes, causing the roofs of two houses to collapse. “Six children were injured in the collapse,” a police officer stationed in the district said. An administrative official added that the condition of four wounded soldiers remains critical.
The Pakistani Taliban faction Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group has claimed responsibility for the bombing through its suicide wing. The group, long active in North Waziristan, has escalated its attacks on security forces in recent years.
Pakistan has seen a renewed surge in militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of providing safe haven to anti-Pakistan militants—a charge Afghan Taliban officials deny.
So far in 2025, around 290 people, the majority of them security personnel, have been killed in attacks by armed groups, according to an AFP tally. The intensifying violence has sparked national concern over the growing influence of militant groups in border regions.
The Pakistani military has yet to issue an official statement regarding the North Waziristan attack, but security operations in the area have been stepped up. Emergency teams continue to evacuate the wounded, while security forces have cordoned off the blast site for investigation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. He reiterated the government’s resolve to root out terrorism and praised the sacrifices of the armed forces. “Such cowardly acts will not deter our determination to secure peace,” Sharif said in a statement.
