At least 23 folks have been killed and dozens of others injured in a suicide bombing at a Pakistan military base Tuesday, an official mentioned.
The assault was later claimed by terrorists affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.
The early-morning assault focused a base in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the Afghan border, based on an area official who spoke on situation of anonymity.
“Many of them were killed while they were sleeping and in civilian clothes so we are still determining if they are all military personnel,” the official added.
An extra 27 folks have been wounded when the explosive-laden suicide car detonated at a faculty constructing that had been commandeered as a makeshift army base, he mentioned.
Three rooms had collapsed and efforts have been underway to tug our bodies from the ruins, with fears the toll might rise additional nonetheless, he added.
Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan – a brand new group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban – mentioned the assault started round 2:30 a.m. (9.30 p.m. GMT) with a suicide assault by one fighter earlier than others stormed the compound.
Pakistan’s military has not but commented on the incident.
Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic spike in terrorist assaults, primarily in its border areas with Afghanistan, because the Taliban returned to energy there in 2021.
Analysts say Islamist fighters have been emboldened by the neighboring insurgency’s success following the withdrawal of US forces in 2021.
The first half of 2023 noticed an almost 80% spike in assaults in comparison with final yr, based on the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Islamabad alleges that hostile teams function from “sanctuaries” throughout the border, a cost the Taliban authorities routinely denies.
The largest menace to Pakistan is its home chapter of the Taliban often known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which shares lineage and beliefs with Kabul’s rulers.
In January, the TTP was linked to a mosque bombing that killed greater than 80 law enforcement officials inside a headquarters within the northwestern metropolis of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Islamabad mentioned 4 troops have been killed in September throughout a cross-border raid by “hundreds” of TTP fighters in Chitral, an space well-liked with home vacationers.
Source: www.dailysabah.com