Deadly attack in Pakistan: Top officer among 5 killed as roadside bomb explodes; police blame Taliban

Five people, including a senior local administrator, were killed when a roadside bomb struck a government vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, injuring 11 others, according to local police, cited by news agency AP.The attack occurred in Bajaur, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, long seen as a haven for militant groups. Among the dead was Assistant Commissioner Faisal Sultan, a senior government officer. District police chief Waqas Rafique said the wounded had been rushed to hospital, with several in critical condition.

Although no group has claimed responsibility, officials suspect the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to be behind the attack.

The group has been responsible for a string of recent assaults targeting security personnel and civil servants in the region. TTP is closely linked to the Afghan Taliban and has gained renewed momentum since the fall of Kabul in 2021.

This bombing follows a deadly suicide attack last Saturday in North Waziristan, another restive district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 16 soldiers were killed when a militant rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a military convoy. That attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban.Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence along its western border, with over 290 people mostly security personnel killed in attacks this year alone.