At Least 11 People Killed In Suicide Attack In Pakistan

At least 11 members of the security forces died after a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car near a security post in northwest Pakistan, Pakistani security officials said today.

According to local authorities, several other members of the security forces were wounded in the attack, which took place on Tuesday night in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A dissident faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, took responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The Pakistani government has yet to comment on the attack, but officials from the country's intelligence and security services stated, under anonymity, that the security forces were carrying out an operation targeting the group that orchestrated the attack.

In recent months, violence has increased in northwest Pakistan, where security forces often target the Pakistani Taliban [Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan/TTP] and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.

Pakistan has seen a steady increase in violence since November 2022, when the TTP ended a month-long ceasefire with the government in Islamabad.

The TTP is allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The arrival of the Taliban in government in Afghanistan encouraged the actions of the TTP, whose main leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan.