At least 16 soldiers were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban in northwest Pakistan, and more than 20 people, including civilians, were wounded, government and security officials told AFP.
A government official in North Waziristan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a convoy of soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
He reported the death of 16 soldiers, after an initial toll of 13.
A police officer in the area told AFP that the explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse and injured six children.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in violence in its areas bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has accused its western neighbor of allowing its territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan, a charge the Taliban denies.
Around 290 people, most of them security officials, have been killed in attacks since the beginning of the year by armed groups fighting the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
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