Bomb blast kills 3 Pakistani forces near Afghanistan border

A bomb blast has killed three security personnel in an area of Pakistan once known as a stronghold for militant groups.

1 min read

28 April, 2019

The blast occurred near a security checkpoint in North Waziristan [AFP/Getty]

A bomb blast in Pakistan near the Afghan border has killed three security personnel, according to a Pakistani security official.

Local administration official Rehmat Khan said a paramilitary soldier was wounded in Saturday's blast near a security checkpoint in North Waziristan, which was a longtime stronghold for the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other militant groups. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan claims to have driven out the area's militants in a series of military operations in recent years, but the region still sees occasional attacks.

Last year, the government merged North Waziristan with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province to give equal rights to the 5 million residents of the rugged, tribal region. Before the 2018 merger, North Waziristan was part of a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan.

The area has been a militant site since September, 11 2001 and tensions escalated into armed conflict when the Pakistani army began searching for al-Qaeda fighters in the mountainous Waziristan area.

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