13 soldiers killed in suicide bomberment in Pakistan

A suicide bombing targeting a military convoy in Pakistan's North Waziristan district left 13 soldiers dead and at least 29 others injured, including several civilians, local authorities confirmed on Saturday (June 28).

The attack occurred in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, a region long plagued by insurgency and militant violence, reports Arab News.

According to officials, the bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of army personnel, triggering a massive blast.

"The explosion was so powerful it caused the roofs of two nearby homes to collapse," a senior police officer said. "Six children were pulled from the rubble and rushed to a local hospital."

Among the injured were 19 civilians and 10 soldiers, authorities said.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction affiliated with the Pakistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group has carried out a series of deadly strikes on security forces in recent months, despite intensified counterterrorism efforts by the Pakistani military.