At least three children killed, several injured in South Waziristan attack: security sources

At least three children were killed and several people were injured in two separate attacks in South Waziristan on Thursday, security sources said.

According to reports, an explosion occurred near a civilian settlement in the Gawa Khwa area of South Waziristan, while mortar shells were also fired at civilians by Afghan Taliban forces in the border tehsil of Angoor Adda.

The explosion, they said, was caused after “Fitna al Khawarij hid cylinders filled with explosives near a house in a nearby settlement”.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

“Three innocent children of a family were martyred and several people were injured” as a result of the explosion, the security sources said, noting that the victims were a 15-year-old boy and two girls of eight and seven years old.

Security sources added that those injured in the attack were immediately taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana.

Locals expressed deep grief and anger over the tragic incident and said that the terrorists were once again targeting unarmed and innocent civilians.

The security sources noted that “khawarij elements have been targeting the general population, children and women in South Waziristan and adjacent areas in the past as well”.

“Khawarij and their facilitators are continuously shedding the blood of innocent civilians to achieve their nefarious goals; however, such cowardly attacks cannot dampen the morale of the people,” they added.

Separately, in Angoor Adda, Afghan Taliban forces fired three mortar shells at a market near the Durand Line, injuring 10 people, according to the security sources.

“Three mortar shells hit the Ghazi Rehman Hotel and shops nearby,” they said.

The injured were immediately shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, where their condition is reported to be critical.

The security sources termed the incident “not only a violation of international laws but also a clear violation of human rights”.

“This aggression by the Afghan Taliban is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region,” they said, adding that “the Afghan Taliban and their affiliated terrorist elements have always targeted the common people to achieve their nefarious goals”.

“Pakistan’s priority is peace, stability and relations based on mutual respect, but Pakistan’s commitment to the security of its borders and people is unwavering, and this is the hallmark of a responsible state,” they added.

There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Taliban to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned TTP. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

The military’s media affairs wing said last week that 13 Indian-sponsored terrorists were killed in two foiled infiltration attempts along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Last month, four terrorists were killed and a police constable martyred in separate incidents in KP’s Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts.

Earlier in April, two children and a woman were killed and three others injured when mortar shells fired from across the Afghan border hit a house in Bajaur, security sources said.