A suicide bomber killed 16 soldiers in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The blast also injured more than two dozen people, including civilians, local officials, and police officers.
The attacker struck in North Waziristan, where they drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a military convoy. A local government official confirmed the details but asked to remain unnamed, as he was not authorised to speak publicly.
Authorities initially reported 13 fatalities but later revised the number to 16.
A police officer in the area said the explosion caused the roofs of two nearby homes to collapse, which injured six children.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility. This group has carried out several suicide attacks in the past.
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, violence in the region has increased. Pakistani officials accuse Afghanistan of allowing militants to launch attacks from its territory. The Taliban denies the allegation.
Armed groups have killed around 290 people since the start of the year, according to local reports. Most of the victims have been security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
