A roadside bomb exploded near a security convoy in north western Pakistan on June 22, 2024, killing five soldiers, and wounding two others, officials have said, a sign of increasing attacks on security forces in the volatile region. The latest attack in the region happened in the district of Kurram, a former militant stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The roadside bomb used to attack the personnel was basically an Improvise Explosive Device (IED)
In a statement, the military said a search operation was underway in the region where the attacks happened to eliminate terrorists present in the area and perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on June 22, 2024. However, the blame fell on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan or the TTP an ally of the Afghan Taliban, but is a separate group it has stepped up its assaults in the region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The Afghan Taliban takeover of the Afghanistan emboldened the TTP whose top leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan. Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif said on June 2024 that the sacrifice of the Pakistani security personnel wouldn’t go in waste as he vowed to continue the South Asian nations war against terrorism.
On June 22, 2024, Sharif and other government and armed forces personnel, including the Army Chief General Asim Munir attended the funeral prayers in Islamabad of Sepoy Haroon William a Christian soldier who was killed in an IED blast.
“The army’s history is replete with such sacrifices in yesterday’s unfortunate incident, Haroon Wiliam sacrificed his life for the motherland, Sharif said as he addressed the funeral service. “Me, the Army Chief and everyone hail their sacrifice for the nation, I believe that this sacrifice will not go waste.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks predominantly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In January 2023, the militants killed at least 101 people mostly police officers when a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman attacked a mosque in Peshawar.
In another attack, five Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing on their convoy in March. Earlier this month, a report from the counter-terrorism department said 65 police officials were killed and 86 wounded in 237 terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police had killed 117 militants and arrested 299 others in a series of operations the report added. The Pakistani authorities often say that the Afghanistan Taliban rulers are providing shelter to the TTP fighters across the two nation’s shared border. The Afghan Taliban government insists it doesn’t allow anyone to use Afghan soil for violence in another country. The TTP has also said it is not using Afghan soil to target troops in Pakistan.
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