A suicide bomber struck a security convoy in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing two soldiers including a lieutenant colonel, the Pakistani military said. The attack occurred in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, where security forces have battled militants for years.
The military said Pakistan would not “exercise any restraint” in operations against those responsible, language that appeared to signal rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
The bombing comes amid escalating violence between the neighboring countries. Two days earlier, a separate attack in the nearby Bajaur district killed 11 soldiers and a girl, prompting Pakistan to lodge a strong diplomatic protest with Afghanistan.
The military named the two soldiers as Lt. Col. Shehzad Gul and Sepoy Karamat Shah. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued separate statements praising their sacrifice and condemning the attack.
Though no group claimed responsibility, Pakistani military and security analysts focused suspicion on Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), blamed for previous bombings in the region.
Escalating tensions
Two days before Saturday’s bombing, a suicide bomber struck a security post in the nearby Bajaur district, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 11 soldiers and a girl. Local police said the attacker was an Afghan national.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal protest over the attack.
Disputed operations and rival claims
The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which took power in 2021. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from Afghan territory—a charge both the militant group and the Afghan government deny.
Relations between the neighboring countries have remained tense since October, when deadly border clashes killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and militants. That violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan.
A Qatar-mediated ceasefire has largely held since the October clashes, though subsequent talks in Istanbul failed to reach a formal agreement. Pakistan’s military statement about not exercising restraint suggests a hardening stance as tensions resurface.
Mounting violence
Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant violence in recent years. In addition to the TTP, outlawed Baloch militant groups have claimed responsibility for attacks across the country. The latest bombings highlight how Pakistan and Afghanistan remain caught in competing allegations about cross-border militant activity.