Taliban Claims Waziristan Suicide Bombing As Pakistan Blames India
Islamabad:
At least 16 security officials were killed on Saturday in a suicide bombing in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Islamabad has blamed New Delhi for the attack that also left over two dozen people, including civilians, wounded.
However, a suicide bomber wing of Hafiz Gul Bahadur's armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, or TPP, has claimed the attack, according to a report by the news agency AFP.
About The Attack
"A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy," according to a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
He told AFP that 16 soldiers were killed, raising the previous number of deaths from 13.
"The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children," a police officer said.
Pakistan's Blame Game
The Pakistani military said the attack was carried out by terrorists backed by India, an allegation New Delhi rejected.
According to a report by The Dawn, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan's military, said in a statement that "in their desperation, an explosive-laden vehicle was rammed by the Indian sponsored kharijis into one of the vehicles of the leading group."
India's Trong Reply
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday strongly rejected Pakistan's claim that India was behind the Waziristan suicide bomber attack.
"We have seen an official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack on Waziristan on 28 June. We reject this statement with the contempt it deserves," ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement on X.
At least 16 security officials were killed on Saturday in a suicide bombing in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Islamabad has blamed New Delhi for the attack that also left over two dozen people, including civilians, wounded.
However, a suicide bomber wing of Hafiz Gul Bahadur's armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, or TPP, has claimed the attack, according to a report by the news agency AFP.
About The Attack
"A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy," according to a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
He told AFP that 16 soldiers were killed, raising the previous number of deaths from 13.
"The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children," a police officer said.
Pakistan's Blame Game
The Pakistani military said the attack was carried out by terrorists backed by India, an allegation New Delhi rejected.
According to a report by The Dawn, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan's military, said in a statement that "in their desperation, an explosive-laden vehicle was rammed by the Indian sponsored kharijis into one of the vehicles of the leading group."
India's Strong Reply
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday strongly rejected Pakistan's claim that India was behind the Waziristan suicide bomber attack.
"We have seen an official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack on Waziristan on 28 June. We reject this statement with the contempt it deserves," ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement on X.
Rise Of Terrorism In Pakistan
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 neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan -- a claim the Taliban denies, saying the terrorism is Pakistan's domestic issue.
Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group of several Islamist terrorist groups, has long been waging a war against Pakistan in a bid to overthrow the government and replace it with its Islamic system of governance.
The Pakistani military, which has launched several offensives against the terrorists, has mostly been their prime target.
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.
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