Suicide attack kills 16 soldiers in Pakistan: Sources
A suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed 16 soldiers and wounded more than two dozen people, including civilians, local government officials and police officers told AFP.
'A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,' said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
He said 16 soldiers were killed, raising a previous death toll of 13.
'The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,' a police officer posted in the district told AFP.
The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan – a claim the Taliban denies.
Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan arrests two for defrauding citizens with fake jobs in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have arrested two men accused of human smuggling after they defrauded citizens with false promises of jobs in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, officials said on Saturday, as the country intensifies its crackdown on trafficking networks following a series of deadly migrant boat disasters. The arrests, made by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Multan, come amid Pakistan's broader campaign to curb human smuggling. The issue has drawn significant attention following recent tragedies in the Mediterranean, including shipwrecks off Greece, Libya and Morocco involving scores of Pakistani nationals. 'The accused, Muhammad Muzammil and Sher Khan, extorted large sums of money from citizens by falsely promising overseas employment opportunities,' the FIA said in a statement. 'Muzammil took Rs852,000 [$2,982] from a victim under the pretense of securing a job in Saudi Arabia, while Sher Khan collected Rs2 million [$7,000] by offering fake employment in the UK,' it continued. 'Both failed to deliver and went into hiding after collecting the money.' The statement noted that the suspects were also involved in visa fraud. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to crack down on the criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people with false hopes of better lives abroad. His administration began focusing on the issue after more than 200 Pakistanis were presumed dead in a shipwreck off Greece among hundreds of other illegal migrants trying to reach European shores. Earlier this year, over 40 Pakistanis were feared drowned near Morocco's coast, while the International Organization for Migration said at least 60 migrants, including Pakistanis, were feared dead after a pair of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in June. The FIA said on Saturday that both suspects were arrested from separate locations in Multan and have been taken into custody for further investigation. It added that its crackdown on human smugglers remains ongoing.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Car Bombing Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers Near Afghan Border
An explosive-laden car rammed into a Pakistani military convoy on Saturday in a town near the Afghan border, killing at least 13 soldiers, sources said. Four Pakistani intelligence officials and a senior local administrator told Reuters that the convoy was attacked in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district. Around 10 other soldiers were wounded, some critically, and they were being airlifted to a military hospital, the sources said. "It was huge, a big bang," said the local administrator, adding that residents of the town could see a large amount of smoke billowing from the scene from a great distance. One resident said that the explosion rattled the windowpanes of nearby houses, and caused some roofs to collapse. No one has so far claimed responsibility. The Pakistani military did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment. The lawless district which sits next to Afghanistan has long served as a safe haven for different militant groups, who operate on both sides of the border. Islamabad says the militants run training camps in Afghanistan to launch attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies, saying the militancy is Pakistan's domestic issue. Pakistani Taliban also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several militant groups, has long been waging a war against Pakistan in a bid to overthrow the government. The Pakistani military, which has launched several offensives against the militants, has mostly been their prime target.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Lawmakers want US Commerce Department to probe Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus
Two US lawmakers on Friday asked the Commerce Department to investigate whether devices sold by Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus in the United States pose security concerns, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Why it matters Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican who chairs a House of Representatives committee on China, and the panel's top Democrat, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, noted that major U.S. retailers sell OnePlus devices for use on two U.S. wireless networks. The lawmakers said a recent analysis by a commercial company provided to the committee indicates that these devices may potentially collect and transmit extensive user data -- including sensitive personal information to servers under Chinese jurisdiction without explicit user consent. Shenzhen-based OnePlus did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department also did not immediately comment. Context BestBuy and both sell OnePlus phones for U.S. consumers, which operate on the Verizon and T-Mobile networks, the committee said. The lawmakers asked the department to task its Information and Communications Technology and Services program with investigating OnePlus phones, including to determine user data types collected by OnePlus devices without explicit user consent 'including potential transfers of sensitive personal information and screenshots.' Washington in recent years has cracked down on Chinese telecoms, revoking the authorization for China Telecom's US subsidiary and others to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns. The Federal Communications Commission in November 2022 banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE as well as telecom and video surveillance equipment from Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.
