A deadly suicide bombing rocked the Khaddi area of North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday, killing at least 16 Pakistani soldiers and leaving more than 24 people injured, including 14 civilians, authorities confirmed.
According to police officials, a suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy passing through the area. The force of the blast was so powerful that the roofs of two nearby houses collapsed, injuring six children.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a splinter faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for the assault.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos, with emergency teams racing to recover the injured while security forces cordoned off the blast site.
The region has witnessed a surge in militant violence over the past year, particularly targeting security forces. According to reports, more than 290 people, including many Pakistani soldiers, have been killed in militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the start of 2025.
The area, which borders Afghanistan, has remained volatile since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, emboldening Pakistan-based militant networks.
In March this year, TTP militants carried out another devastating suicide attack on the Jandola military base in Tank district, killing numerous soldiers and destroying large parts of the facility with a powerful vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) before infiltrating the base.
