Seven Pakistani soldiers and six assailants were killed on Saturday in an attack on a security post close to the border with Afghanistan, according to the military.
Members of an armed group attacked the security post near Mir Ali in the early hours of Saturday, the army’s communication service (ISPR) said in a statement.
“The terrorists rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the post, followed by multiple suicide bombing attacks, which led to (the) collapse of (a) portion of a building,” the statement said, adding that five soldiers were killed.
Clashes followed, and during an exchange of fire a 39-year-old lieutenant colonel and a 23-year-old captain died, the ISPR added.
All six assailants died in the attack.
Pakistan was once plagued by near-daily bombings, prompting a major military clearance operation in the former tribal areas starting in 2014.
North Waziristan, where Saturday’s attack took place, has historically been a hive of militancy and was the target of a long-running Pakistani military offensive and US drone strikes during the post-9/11 occupation of Afghanistan.
Analysts say militants in the former tribal areas have become emboldened since the Taliban’s return to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan’s home-grown Taliban group, Tehreek–e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has waged a growing campaign against security officials.
Islamabad has accused Kabul’s Taliban government of harboring TTP fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity. Kabul has consistently denied the allegations.
