A car bomb attack on a security camp in Bajaur district, northwestern Pakistan, killed multiple security personnel. The armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility.
According to security sources, militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the camp gate in Bajaur district on Thursday (May 14), then opened fire. It is the latest in a series of deadly attacks along the border region, threatening the fragile ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul.
A Pakistani official said the explosion was huge. Gunmen then stormed the camp and fired indiscriminately. Reports indicate eight or nine Pakistani soldiers died in the assault. AFP reported that at least 10 attackers were killed, while around 35 security personnel were wounded.
A Reuters journalist in the town of Bajaur said the blast was felt in markets more than 20 km from the camp. Images showed most structures at the post destroyed or blackened by fire. The Pakistani army blocked nearby roads and cordoned off the camp area on the mountainous border with Afghanistan.
TTP, which seeks to overthrow Pakistan's government through attacks from bases in remote border areas of Afghanistan, claimed responsibility. The latest incident fuels a wave of violence in the region, with more than 20 killed in recent days. Earlier, a truck bomb targeting a police station killed over a dozen people, and a market blast left at least nine dead. Three security personnel were also wounded when a mortar round hit another camp in the Inayat Killi area of Bajaur.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harboring militant groups launching attacks on Pakistani territory. Kabul denies this. Tensions between the two South Asian neighbors have risen since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. By February 2026, border clashes escalated, and Pakistan's defense minister called it an open war.
A temporary fighting pause was agreed in March, but violence persisted. Islamabad and Kabul agreed to avoid escalation in Chinese-brokered talks in April. However, those talks produced no formal deal or ceasefire, leaving the situation unstable. The recent spate of attacks risks sparking fresh clashes between the two sides.
According to the United Nations, cross-border conflict killed at least 372 Afghan civilians and wounded nearly 400 others in just the first three months of 2026.
