Car bomb attack kills 27 in northwest Pakistan

A suicide attack on a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan has killed 27 people, including soldiers, police and gunmen, the army reported.

The overnight attack was near the Afghan border in the restive and remote northwest which has ‌long hosted armed groups that carry out attacks.

The military reported that 12 soldiers, two police officers and a forestry official were killed, along with 12 attackers.

They tried to force their way into the checkpoint in the Tank district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, then rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall.

The Pakistan Taliban (TTP) armed group, which has been fighting against the Pakistani state since 2007, said four suicide bombers took part in the assault.

A search operation is under way in the surrounding area to track down anyone involved.

The bombing is the latest in an extended series of assaults on security forces and other officials and civilians across northwestern Pakistan.

The violence has accelerated since the Taliban returned to governance of neighbouring Afghanistan, where many armed groups shelter.

Attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have increased sharply, while a surge of attacks and suicide bombings against police in neighbouring Bannu district was reported last week.

The Centre for Research and Security Studies recorded fatalities rising from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 last year, while the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies says attacks nationwide rose 34 percent over the same period.

The Pakistani government has long accused Afghanistan of sheltering armed groups. The Afghan Taliban government denies any involvement and insists the attacks are Pakistan’s internal issue.

The dispute has escalated into military action, with Pakistan carrying out repeated air raids on Afghan soil that it says target armed groups, and Afghanistan firing back.

The United Nations has recorded hundreds of Afghan civilian deaths from those strikes this year, deepening the rift between the two neighbours.