Militants Attack Security Outpost in Northwest Pakistan, Killing at Least 8 Soldiers

MSN

Pakistani soldiers.

Militants stormed a security outpost in Pakistan’s northwest on Thursday night, ramming a vehicle filled with explosives into the camp before engaging in a gun battle that killed at least eight troops and injured 35 others, according to two security officials.

The attack comes amid a recent surge in militant violence, with three similar incidents in recent days leaving nearly 30 people dead and raising tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistan has accused militant groups based in Afghanistan of involvement, an allegation the Taliban government in Kabul rejects.

The assault took place in Bajaur district, near the mountainous border with Afghanistan. Images from the site showed the outpost heavily damaged, with parts reduced to rubble and other sections burned and destroyed.

"The terrorists first targeted the camp with a quadcopter and then an explosive-laden car struck the building, causing a huge explosion,” one of the officials said.

"Armed terrorists later entered the security camp and opened indiscriminate fire."

He said the outpost was a key installation for countering cross-border attacks.

Security forces in the region responded immediately and killed all the militants involved, the two officials said. Pakistan’s military has not yet issued an official statement on the attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement sent to journalists.

Since Saturday, two separate attacks near the town of Bannu in northwestern Pakistan have killed 25 people. In a separate incident, a shootout with militant groups in Balochistan province left five soldiers dead, according to a military statement.

Islamabad has long accused the TTP leadership and many of its fighters of operating from Afghanistan, along with insurgents linked to the Baloch separatist movement. The Afghan Taliban government in Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing its territory to be used for cross-border attacks.

Tensions escalated further in February when Islamabad carried out airstrikes in Kabul, saying it targeted militant hideouts—an action that triggered the most serious clashes between the two countries in years.

Source: Reuters



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