Armed militants ambushed a military convoy at dawn, killing 12 soldiers and injuring four in northwest Pakistan’s South Waziristan.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility, citing strong links with the Afghan Taliban despite being distinct groups.
Attacks by armed groups have killed nearly 460 people in 2025 so far, with last year being Pakistan’s deadliest in a decade.
Pakistani Taliban Ambush Kills 12 Soldiers in Waziristan
Militancy surges in border regions as TTP claims responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks in months.
Summary
The Pakistani Taliban ambushed and killed at least 12 soldiers in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, reported local government and security officials.
According to AFP, since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Kabul in 2021, militancy has increased in the areas that border Afghanistan.
Around 4:00 in the morning, "armed men opened fire from both sides with heavy weapons" on a military convoy going through a town in the South Waziristan district, killing 12 security officers and injuring four more, said a local government official.
A local security guard verified the number of fatalities and reported that the assailants had taken the firearms from the convoy.
In a social media post, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, took credit for the assault. Although distinct, the group has strong ties to the Afghan Taliban, noted AFP.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the TTP formerly ruled large areas until being driven out by a military campaign that started in 2014, it was one of the bloodiest strikes in months.
While Kabul authorities dispute the charge, Islamabad accuses neighbouring Afghanistan of failing to drive out militants who use Afghan territory to target Pakistan.
Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's several districts have been complaining for weeks about graffiti on buildings that bears the TTP's name.
They claim to be afraid of a resurgence of the TTP's control over the area during the height of the US "War on Terror," which spread from Afghanistan. There are now more TTP fighters and attacks, a top local government official told AFP.
According to an AFP, since January 1, armed organisations fighting the state have carried out strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern province of Balochistan that have killed nearly 460 people, primarily members of the security services.
According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, last year was the deadliest in Pakistan in almost ten years, with over 1,600 people killed, almost half of them troops and police officials.
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