PESHAWAR, Oct 26:
At least eight people, including six law enforcement personnel, were killed and many others injured on Saturday in a suicide attack targeting a police picket in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The blast occurred at the Aslam Check Post in Mir Ali tehsil of the North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan, according to sources.
Riding three-wheelers, the bombers hit the check post and vehicles of the security forces, killing at least eight people, including four policemen, two soldiers and two civilians. Many others were also injured in the blast and were shifted to the Miran Shah Hospital. According to sources, the casualty figure may rise.
Pakistan has experienced a spike in terrorism since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Most terror incidents are reported in provinces bordering the neighbouring country — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Around a dozen militants were eliminated during anti-terrorism operations by the security forces in the North Waziristan district this month.
A report published by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) think tank earlier this month said that the third quarter of 2024 saw a sharp increase in fatalities of terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns with a 90 per cent surge in violence in the country.
The total fatalities from three quarters of this year surpassed the total fatalities recorded for the entire of 2023, with 722 deaths including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws.
Nearly 97 per cent of these fatalities occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — marking the highest percentage in a decade. (PTI)
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