The Durand War: 7 Pak troops die in suicide bomber’s attack on military camp
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Hours before the tenuous 48-hour ceasefire ended on Friday afternoon, a suicide bomber’s attack on a Pakistani military camp in Northern Waziristan, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, reportedly killed seven soldiers and wounded 13 others.
The attack happened ahead of the meeting of representatives of Islamabad and Kabul in Doha (Qatar), the media reported.
Pakistani officials said an explosive-laden truck collided with the outer wall of the military camp in Mir Ali, killing and wounding the soldiers. Two other terrorists tried to launch another attack but were killed.
Terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for this attack, saying its suicide units called Khalid bin-Walid and Tehreek-e-Gulbahadar led the mission.
Officials said it was the worst terror attack in recent months in Northern Waziristan. Islamabad has now deployed assault helicopters.
The attack took place in Mir Ali, a city in the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Its impact damaged nearby homes as well.
The attack came two days after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire from Wednesday afternoon, following six days of cross-border fighting that killed several dozens and wounded hundreds on both sides. The temporary ceasefire was brokered with help from “friendly countries” encouraging both sides to extend the truce.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since January, mostly blamed on the TTP. It has strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul as Pakistan says the group is being sheltered in Afghanistan. Its Defence Minister Khawaja Abbas has blamed India for supporting the Taliban-led attacks.
Pakistan’s military has carried out multiple operations against militants in the region this week, killing 88 militants, according to security officials and police in the region.
This week’s clashes between the two countries were the deadliest since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul as the US and NATO forces suddenly withdrew after 20 years of War on Terror.
Tensions soared along the Durand Line, the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan which Kabul rejects, on Friday last week when the Taliban accused Islamabad of carrying out an air strike in the Afghan capital, which Pakistani government and military did not acknowledge.
The Taliban-led terrorists, who captured nearly 27 military outposts along the entire 2,500-km-long Durand Line this week, killed many, took hostage several Pakistani soldiers, disrobed them, rode on even their seized battle tanks, and displayed weapons, have indicated that their push into mainland Pakistan will continue until they unify Pakhtoonistan spread across both sides of the bilateral border.
