At least nine soldiers were killed and 20 others were injured when a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a security convoy in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, according to three security officials. This attack was a warning of rising terrorist activity.
According to the government, the incident took place in Bannu, a district of the Afghan bordering province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As they were not permitted to talk to the media on the record, they agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.
Although there was no official statement from any organization, the Pakistani Taliban are the most probable suspects given their increased assaults on security personnel since 2022. According to authorities, since the Taliban took control of the country, which also gave the rebels more confidence, they have discovered safe havens and are even living openly in Afghanistan.
The army did not immediately respond with a statement.
Bannu is close to North Waziristan, a former terrorist bastion that housed rebels until the army said years ago that it had rid the area of both domestic and international militants. However, isolated assaults have persisted, prompting worries that the neighborhood Taliban, called as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, are reorganizing.
The Afghan Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in 2021 as U.S. and NATO soldiers were nearing the end of their withdrawal, are a different organization but friends of the Pakistani Taliban.