Suicide bombings kill several people – DW – 20/11/2024

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security post in Pakistan, killing 12 soldiers and wounding several others, officials said Wednesday.

Militants rammed the vehicle into the outer wall of the outpost in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, damaging adjacent infrastructure during Tuesday’s attack, the military said in a statement.

“A sanitization operation is being carried out in the area and the perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice,” the statement said, adding that six militants were also killed in the incident.

The military did not say who was behind the attack, but Hafiz Gul Bahadur, an Islamist militant group, claimed responsibility.

‘TTP has expanded its activities’

Pakistan has seen a steady increase in violence since November 2022, when the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ended a months-long ceasefire with the government in Islamabad.

Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, said more than 900 security forces have been killed in militant attacks in Pakistan since the renewal of hostilities.

“TTP and other groups have expanded their operations, showing that they are getting more recruits, money and weapons,” Khan said, stressing the need for political stability in Pakistan to defeat the insurgents.

Pakistan has been in a political crisis since 2022, when then Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence.

Khan was arrested and jailed in May 2023. His supporters regularly protest and demand his release.

jsi/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)