Suicide attack in northwest Pakistan leaves 3 dead

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – At least three people including a soldier were killed Monday in a suspected suicide attack in northwest Pakistan, the military said.

The latest bombing rocked Miranshah, the capital of the volatile tribal region of North Waziristan near Afghanistan’s border, the army said in a statement.

The attack follows the takeover of a counterterrorism facility by militants loyal to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several militant groups operating in Pakistan.

The militants, who were detained and being interrogated before they managed to overpower the interrogators and took control of the facility are demanding safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the release of security officials held hostage.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks from the Afghan side of the border following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August last year.

Islamabad has been urging the Taliban to live up to their commitments to rein in terrorist groups and not to allow them to use Afghan soil as a launch pad for attacks.

Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP leader, nonetheless claimed that the militant network operates from within Pakistan and is not using Afghan soil.

In an interview with CNN last week, Mehsud from an unknown location said that the militant network is targeting Pakistani security forces from “within its territory.”