At least seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing near the Afghan border on Friday, security officials said, as a temporary truce halting days of fierce cross-border clashes expired with no sign of renewal.
The South Asian neighbours engaged in fierce ground fighting, and Pakistan also launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing dozens and wounding hundreds, before they reached a 48-hour truce that ended at 1300 GMT on Friday.
The seven soldiers were killed in an attack by militants on a Pakistani military camp in north Waziristan, which also left 13 injured, five security officials said.
While one militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the boundary wall of a fort that served as a military camp, two others tried to get into the facility and were shot dead, they said.
Pakistan Acted After ‘Losing Patience With Kabul’
Six militants were killed in the suicide attack, the office of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement, without providing details on the number of soldiers killed.
Pakistan’s army did not respond to a request for comment.
The identity of the attackers was not known, and no group has claimed responsibility.
Militant violence in Pakistan has been a major irritant in its relationship with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Kabul after the departure of U.S.-led forces in 2021.
The latest conflict between the two countries was triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.
Sharif said on Thursday that Pakistan “retaliated” as it lost patience with Afghanistan following a series of militant attacks, but was ready to hold talks to resolve the conflict.
The Taliban denies the charge and accuses the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan, provoking border tensions, and sheltering ISIS-linked militants to undermine its stability and sovereignty.
Islamabad denies the accusations.
On Friday, the Pakistan Red Crescent said Afghanistan had handed over to it the bodies of seven Pakistanis – two security personnel and five civilians – who were killed during clashes earlier in the week.
Although the Islamic nations have clashed in the past, the fighting this month is their worst in decades. It has drawn the attention of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who have mediated and sought to stop the fighting.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he can help resolve the conflict.
(With inputs from Reuters)
