A suicide attack killed eight people at a checkpoint in Pakistan

A relatively unknown militant group known as “Aswad ul-Harb” claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

AND suicide bomber detonated an explosive at a checkpoint in the western part of the country Pakistan according to official reports, eight people died and five were injured. According to a local police officer who preferred to remain anonymous, the attack took place near the town of Mir Ali in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the attacker caused an explosion in the back of a motorcycle rickshaw.

The dead included four police officers, two members of state paramilitary forces and two civilians. The explosion occurred near the border with Afghanistan. A police official said three of the five injured people were in critical condition and were transported to a nearby military hospital for urgent treatment.

A local authority representative, who also requested anonymity, confirmed the reports of victims. A relatively unknown militant group known as “Aswad ul-Harb” claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a separate incident earlier this week, the Pakistani Taliban attacked another checkpoint near the border with Afghanistan, resulting in the death of ten police officers. A resurgence of militancy in Pakistan is a growing concern, especially after the Taliban returns to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Authorities in Islamabad maintain that hostile factions are now using Afghanistan as a haven.

As noted by the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies, last year was a disturbing peak in the number of suicide attacks in Pakistan, the highest since 2014. In 2022, the country recorded 29 suicide bombings, killing 329 people, making it the deadliest year in a decade.