Regional
Explosions kill at least 24 in northwestern Pakistan, most victims civilians
At least 12 children were killed, resident Mohammad Ali Shinwari told Reuters.
A series of explosions late Sunday night killed at least 24 people, mostly civilians, in northwestern Pakistan near the disputed Durand Line, government officials and local residents said on Monday.
The cause of the blasts remains disputed. Residents reported that Pakistani fighter jets bombed four houses, while two security officials—speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue—said the explosions occurred at a munitions dump inside a militant hideout.
The military’s public relations wing did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported. The army frequently carries out operations in the region targeting militant groups that move across the border.
The incident took place in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber District, where hundreds of residents protested before holding funerals for the victims, officials said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, called the deaths “tragic and condemnable,” adding that civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations were “unacceptable,” according to a statement from his office. The statement did not clarify the nature of the action or identify those responsible.
Officials said local sources confirmed four militants were living in one of the destroyed houses. The remaining victims were civilians, including at least 12 children, according to resident Mohammad Ali Shinwari.
“People from nearby villages rushed to the scene and pulled bodies from the rubble in the middle of the night,” Shinwari told Reuters.
The chief minister’s office announced compensation of 10 million Pakistani rupees ($35,300) for each civilian killed, though it did not specify how many of the dead were civilians.
The Khyber District, located in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt along the Durand Line, has long been a stronghold for Islamist militant groups seeking to topple the state and impose their own system of governance.
The militants have escalated attacks on security forces in recent weeks, including two assaults on September 13 that left 19 soldiers dead.