Two children, four security officers killed in latest Pakistan attacks

A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security forces in restive northwestern Pakistan, killing four officers and wounding five others, officials have revealed.

The roadside bombing on security forces happened on Wednesday in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, local police officer Dilawar Khan said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has stepped up its assaults in the region since its ally the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.

Also on Wednesday, a mortar fired by insurgents landed alongside a road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

When the explosive detonated, two children who had been walking to school were killed, police said.

The Pakistani military has launched dozens of operations against the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents in South Waziristan and other former tribal regions nearby, but the militants continue to carry out frequent attacks.