Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – A bomb planted on a parked motorcycle exploded near a police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least five people and leaving 20 injured. This blast unfolded in Dera Ismail Khan, situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.
The explosive device, concealed within the motorcycle, was remotely triggered as a police bus, carrying officers from the city to the nearby Takwara area, passed by the bus stop. Police officer Gul Sher Khan provided these details and noted that all the victims were locals. The blast inflicted injuries on both civilians and police constables, necessitating their transfer to a nearby hospital, where three of the wounded are reported to be in critical condition.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack at this point. However, suspicion naturally falls on the Pakistani Taliban, which has intensified its assaults on security forces since 2022. Authorities have expressed concerns that these insurgents have grown bolder while operating openly in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover of that country in 2021.
Dera Ismail Khan is located in proximity to the former militant stronghold of South Waziristan, which was previously a sanctuary for militants. Although Pakistan’s military had conducted extensive operations against militants in the tribal regions along the Afghan border following the attack on a school in 2014, occasional incidents like this one suggest that the local Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, may be regrouping in the area.
