Pakistan army post assault leaves 7 soldiers dead

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden truck into a sprawling military post in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, the country’s military and security officials said, with at least seven soldiers killed in the bombing and ensuing shootout.

Troops responding to the attack in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, killed six more attackers, some of whom were wearing suicide vests.

A newly formed militant group, Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The military said a portion of a military post collapsed, adding that five soldiers died in the truck bombing and two officers in the shootout that followed.

A clearance operation is still underway in the area, it said, adding that the “security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.”

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and paid tribute to the “martyred” troops.

North Waziristan long served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups until the army claimed a few years back that it had cleared the region of insurgents.

Occasional attacks have continued, however, raising concerns that the Pakistani Taliban are regrouping in the area. They are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops were finalizing their pullout from the South Asian country.

Since then, the Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces, especially in the northwest.