The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself on a military convoy.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan): At least nine police personnel were killed and five others were critically injured in a suicide bomb blast in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, Dawn News reported on Thursday. A suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a security forces convoy in the Mali Khel area, The Pakistan Telegraph quoted police sources as saying.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a “motorcycle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself on a military convoy”.

Giving details, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, “Resultantly, nine soldiers including Naib Subedar Sanobar Ali embraced shahadat, while five soldiers were injured.”

The ISPR further added that the area had been cordoned off by security forces and action was being taken to eliminate the terrorists.

“The security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR added.

Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed grief over the death of the soldiers.

“Heartbroken by the loss of 9 valiant soldiers in Bannu Division, KP, to a cowardly terrorist act that injured many,” Kakar posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Since the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) ceasefire with the government ended last November, Pakistan has seen an increase in terrorist activity, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as reported by Dawn.

Six soldiers were killed on August 22 during a gun battle in the South Waziristan district, according to information released last week by the military’s media wing.

During separate military operations in the Balochistan areas of Zhob and Sui, as many as 12 Pakistani Army troops were killed.

This was the biggest single-day death toll from terrorist assaults that the military has seen. Prior to this, 10 soldiers died in a “fire raid” in the Kech area of Balochistan in February 2022.

According to a report published in July by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the country saw an alarming spike in terror and suicide attacks in the first half of this year, which claimed the lives of 389 individuals, Dawn reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

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