Army captain among seven soldiers killed in roadside blast in northwest Pakistan

A policeman (R) and army soldiers (L) stand guard along a road in Bannu on December 21, 2022. (AFP/File)

• The blast occurred as an improvised explosive device targeted a security forces vehicle in Lakki Marwat district
• While no group claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Seven Pakistani soldiers, including an army captain, were killed in a roadside blast in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Sunday, the Pakistani military said.
The blast occurred as an improvised explosive device targeted a vehicle carrying the soldiers in Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
The province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed several attacks on police, security forces and civilians amid a renewed wave of violence in recent months.
“On 9 June 24, an improvised explosive device exploded on vehicle of Security Forces in Lakki Marwat District,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Resultantly, Captain Muhammad Faraz Ilyas (age: 26 years, resident of Kasur District) along with six other brave sons of soil... made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat (martyrdom).”
The ISPR said a sanitization operation was underway in the area to eliminate any militants. “Perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice,” it added.
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has claimed dozens of recent attacks.
Pakistan has witnessed a renewed surge in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the TTP called off its fragile truce with the government in November 2022.
This week, gunmen killed at least four policemen and a prayer leader, while three anti-polio vaccinators and two policemen were injured in separate incidents in KP, according to officials.
Pakistan has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad.