Security forces foiled a cowardly suicide attack in Mirali, North Waziristan, killing four attackers, officials said. Tragically, the assault resulted in civilian casualties: three women and two children were burnt to death after a vehicle caught fire during the attempted strike.
According to security sources, the attackers belonged to the proscribed “Gul Bahadur” group, which has claimed responsibility for the incident. The Gul Bahadur faction is reportedly linked to the banned Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and security officials allege that its leadership is hiding and operating from Afghan territory.
Sources told reporters that the militants deliberately targeted a civilian area near a local checkpoint (locally known as “Khadi Post”), demonstrating once again their cowardice in striking unarmed men, women and children. Security forces responded promptly to the attempt and neutralized all four assailants before the attack could be fully executed.
Security officials further allege that the Gul Bahadur group and other external elements are receiving protection and safe haven in Afghanistan. They say Taliban leadership in Kabul has even instructed local networks not to publicise militant casualties and injuries on social media, an order that, officials claim, points to a pattern of concealment and tacit tolerance.
Condemning the attack, security forces vowed to continue operations until the menace of terrorism is eradicated from the country. “We will pursue these extremists to their logical end,” a security source said, adding that militants, frustrated by repeated defeats on the battlefield, are increasingly resorting to targeting civilians, a sign of their weakness and desperation.
Public reaction was one of shock and grief. Citizens and community leaders expressed deep sorrow at the loss of innocent lives and demanded that the perpetrators and their facilitators be brought to strict justice. Officials said such cowardly attacks will not break the nation’s resolve; the state and its people remain united against terrorism.
In recent months Pakistan has repeatedly accused militant factions, including TTP‑linked groups and other foreign outfits, of operating from Afghan soil and using those sanctuaries to plan and launch attacks across the border. Various intelligence assessments circulated in the region have warned of large numbers of foreign fighters and multiple terror cells active inside Afghanistan. Islamabad says it has asked the Taliban leadership to take concrete, verifiable action to dismantle these networks; the Taliban have routinely denied state complicity. The latest incidents; including intelligence‑based operations (IBOs), seizures of explosives‑laden vehicles, and precision strikes on identified militant hideouts, reflect an intensifying security campaign inside Pakistan’s border districts.
