ISLAMABAD, June 28 — At least 13 security personnel were killed and 24 others injured, including women and children, in a devastating suicide bombing early Saturday in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, security officials confirmed.
The attack occurred in the Khaddi area of North Waziristan district when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle belonging to the Bomb Disposal Unit. The explosion resulted in one of the deadliest incidents in the region in recent months.
According to sources, 14 civilians are among the injured, several of whom are in critical condition. A curfew had already been imposed in the area due to ongoing military movement at the time of the attack, officials said.
Security forces launched a rescue and clearance operation immediately after the blast. Bodies of the deceased were shifted to a military hospital, and injured civilians were taken to nearby medical facilities, some airlifted for urgent treatment.
Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Usud al-Harb, a militant faction operating under the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a long-standing Taliban-aligned outfit active in North Waziristan.
The bombing has once again thrown a spotlight on the fragile security environment in the region, raising alarm among both provincial and federal security agencies. Authorities are investigating how the bomber managed to breach layers of military movement and target the protected convoy.
No official statement has yet been issued by the Pakistan Army, but intelligence and counterterror units have been mobilised to trace the network behind the attack.
North Waziristan, a tribal district bordering Afghanistan, has seen a resurgence in militant violence in recent months despite intensified counter-insurgency operations. This latest assault comes amid growing calls for enhanced border control and intelligence coordination to stem the rise in suicide attacks and ambushes on security forces.
