Pakistan: Terror attacks leave four soldiers dead

Four soldiers were killed in northwestern Pakistan, the military said on Thursday.

The incident comes amid a surge in terrorist attacks in the country.

What happened in the attacks on Pakistani soldiers?

Three soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in North Waziristan, a region that has long served as a base for Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida.

"The suicide bomber intended to target the security forces' post. However, timely interception of the suicide bomber on suspicion by on-duty soldiers prevented a major catastrophe," the military's media wing ISPR said.

In a separate incident, militants killed a Pakistani army officer on Thursday in the course of a gun battle in a tribal district close to the Afghan border, the army said.

The 33-year-old army officer was leading an operation in the Khyber region where he was shot dead in an exchange of fire.

The killings happened amid an alarming and steady surge in terror attacks in the country. 

According to a statistical report released by the independent think tank in Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, there has been a 79% increase in militant attacks during the first six months of 2023. 

The report noted a total of 271 militant attacks during this period, killing 389 people. 

For the same six-month period in 2022, the country witnessed 151 attacks that left 293 dead, according to the report.

It is said that around 80,000 Pakistanis have been killed in years of violence by the Taliban.  Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a local militant umbrella organization of Sunni Islamists and sectarian groups, claimed responsibility for killing Shah.

No group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing yet.