Suicide bombing kills 4 in Pakistan near Afghan border

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 May 2023 17:51

Three of those killed in the bomb were border checkpoint security officers, as per a local official.

Security personnel examine the site of a blast after a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up near a checkpoint in the southwestern city of Quetta, Sept. 5, 2021 (AFP)

At least four persons were killed in a suicide bombing in the Pakistani area of South Waziristan, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Afghan border, as per Pakistani media.

South Waziristan's deputy commissioner, Rehan Gul Khattak, said as quoted by Geo TV that three of those killed in the bomb were border checkpoint security officers.

A police officer and a security employee were both injured and hospitalized, as per media reports.

The bomber detonated the explosives during a normal checkpoint inspection by multiple police officers and security officials.

This is the second attack in 24 hours. Police reported, on Tuesday, that six Pakistani security personnel were killed in an overnight siege by dozens of militants on a Hungarian-owned oil and gas exploration site.

Pakistan has seen an increase in militancy since the hasty US withdrawal in 2021, with attacks mostly targeting security forces and foreign interests accused of exploitation.

Last week, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that a suicide attacker targeted the convoy of the head of the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Sirajul Haq, while he was in Balochistan's Zhob district, confirming that Haq survived the assassination attempt.

Pakistan has been witnessing a surge in violent attacks and bombings. The TTP had agreed with the Pakistani government on a ceasefire in June 2022. However, both parties have made several claims that the truce was ignored, with numerous clashes taking place.