Eight people killed in suicide bombing in western Pakistan: police

A suicide bomber exploded at a checkpoint in western Pakistan on Saturday, killing eight people and wounding five others, officials said.

A terrorist carried out an explosion in the back seat of a motorcycle rickshaw near the town of Mir Ali in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a local police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Four police officers were killed along with two members of state paramilitary forces and two civilians in an attack near the border with Afghanistan, he said.

Pakistan has seen a rise in militancy since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming rival groups are now using the neighboring country as a safe haven.

“Of the five wounded, three are in critical condition and have been transferred to a local military hospital,” the police officer said.

A local government official, who also wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the same number of dead and wounded.

A little-known militant group calling itself Aswad ul-Harb claimed responsibility for the attack.

This week, the Pakistani Taliban attacked another checkpoint near the Afghan border, killing 10 police officers.

The country saw more suicide attacks last year than any year since 2014, according to the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies.

A total of 29 suicide attacks were reported, killing 329 people in Pakistan’s deadliest year in a decade.