Suicide bombing targets security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing 3 soldiers and a child

A suicide bomber riding in a vehicle targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three soldiers and a 10-year-old boy and wounding 14 other civilians, officials said.

The bombing occurred in Miran Shah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

At least 14 civilians and some soldiers were wounded in the attack, according to Rashid Khan, a police official. He said security forces were searching the area for the bomber’s handlers.

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Khan initially said two soldiers and a 10-year-old boy identified as Mohammad Qasim were killed, and he later added that a critically wounded soldier died of his injuries, bringing the death toll to four. Hours after the bombing, the military said three soldiers were “martyred” in the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Though a separate group, it remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country after two decades of war.

The Afghan Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has stepped up attacks in recent months.