Saturday, March 29, 2025
Islamabad, September 13, 2025 – In one of the deadliest recent strikes, at least 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed early Saturday when militants ambushed a military convoy in South Waziristan, a tribal district in northwestern Pakistan.
According to security officials, heavily armed militants opened fire on the convoy with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades before seizing military equipment and fleeing the scene.
The banned militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident is being described as one of the most lethal assaults in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in recent months.
Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant activities in its border provinces. Although the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban are separate entities, they share close ideological and operational ties. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of failing to crack down on TTP sanctuaries operating inside Afghan territory.
Reports indicate that several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now display posters and graffiti supporting the TTP, spreading fear among residents. Local officials say militant movement and attacks have intensified sharply in recent months, straining the region’s already fragile security situation.
Statistics reveal a grim picture: since January 1, 2025, nearly 460 people have been killed in terrorist attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, most of them security personnel. Last year, Pakistan endured its deadliest wave of violence in over a decade, with more than 1,600 fatalities nationwide.
The fresh South Waziristan attack underscores the mounting threat posed by resurgent militancy and the challenges faced by Pakistan’s security forces in curbing it.
