Deadly Suicide Attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Kills 16 Soldiers

 Deadly Suicide Attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Kills 16 Soldiers

Peshawar, June 29, 2025 — A suicide car bombing targeting a military convoy in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province left 16 soldiers dead and more than two dozen others injured on Saturday, in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.

The assault took place in the North Waziristan district, near the Afghan border, an area long plagued by insurgent violence. According to local officials, the attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy, triggering a powerful blast that also damaged nearby homes.

“Six children were injured when the roofs of two houses collapsed due to the force of the explosion,” a police officer in the area reported.

The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a militant faction affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group’s suicide bomber wing said it was behind the deadly strike.

Violence has surged in Pakistan’s border regions since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory and launch cross-border attacks — an allegation Afghan authorities deny.

So far this year, around 290 people — most of them security personnel — have been killed in attacks carried out by insurgent groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighboring Balochistan, according to data compiled by AFP.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, condemned the bombing, offering condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and vowing continued efforts against terrorism.

“Our security forces have made immense sacrifices for peace,” Gandapur said in a statement. “The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with them in the fight against terrorism.”

As security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, residents mourned yet another tragic episode in a region that has endured years of conflict and instability.