“A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,” said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.He said 16 soldiers were killed, raising the previous death toll of 13.
“The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,” a police officer posted in the district told AFP.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban denies.
Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
Pakistan Flash Floods Kill 11
“In the past 24 hours, flash floods and landslides have claimed the lives of 11 people — including four children and three women — while six others have been injured,” according to a report issued late Friday by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management agency.
The report said 10 of those killed were in the Swat Valley, where, according to local media, a flash flood swept away families on a riverbank.
Flooding in the province has also damaged 56 houses, with six of them destroyed, according to the disaster agency’s report.
The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday.
Last month, at least 24 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million inhabitants are facing increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
© Agence France-Presse
