PESHAWAR: At least eight security personnel were martyred in a suicide blast in North Waziristan on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Office.
The statement said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur strongly condemned the attack, which took place in the Mir Ali area, and expressed condolences to the families of the martyrs. “I salute the brave security personnel and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country,” he said.
The chief minister praised the security forces’ role in restoring peace and combating terrorism, stating that their sacrifices had strengthened national resolve against militancy. “The entire nation stands firmly behind our security forces in the fight against terrorism,” he added.
Earlier, Dawn reported from KP police said that the blast was carried out using an improvised explosive device (IED) rigged inside a vehicle, injuring four civilians.
Meanwhile, the local administrator told Reuters that “it was huge, a big bang,” adding that residents of the town could see a large amount of smoke billowing from the scene from a great distance.
One resident said that the explosion rattled the windowpanes of nearby houses, and caused some roofs to collapse.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility.
The attack comes just days after an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan in which two soldiers were martyred and 11 militants were killed.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the IBO was carried out in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan, while the neutralised terrorists belonged to the Indian-backed proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij.
Security forces had also been carrying counter-terror operations in North Waziristan, including an IBO in the Datta Khel area earlier this month that eliminated 14 militants.