Thirteen security personnel were martyred in a suicide bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district on Saturday, carried out by Indian proxy Fitna-al-Khawarij, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the military’s media wing, a vehicle-borne suicide attacker targeted a security convoy in the district’s Mir Ali area, before being intercepted by the convoy’s lead vehicle.

In July last year, the government designated the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna-al-Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.

“In their desperation, an explosive-laden vehicle was rammed by the Indian sponsored kharijis into one of the vehicles of the leading group,” the ISPR stated. “Thirteen brave sons of [the] soil, embraced shahadat (martyrdom) [and] in this tragic and barbaric incident, two children and a woman [were also] severely injured.”

The martyred personnel were identified as follows:

• Subedar Zahid Iqbal, 45, from Karak
• Havildar Sohrab Khan, 39, from Naseerabad
• Havildar Mian Yousaf, 41, from Buner
• Naik Khitab Shah, 34, from Lower Dir
• Lance Naik Ismail, 32, from Naseerabad
• Sepoy Rohail, 30, from Mirpurkhas
• Sepoy Muhammad Ramzan, 33, from Dera Ghazi Khan
• Sepoy Nawab, 30, from Quetta
• Sepoy Zubair Ahmed, 24, from Naseerabad
• Sepoy Muhammad Sahki, 31, from Dera Ghazi Khan
• Sepoy Hashim Abbasi, 20, from Abbotabad
• Sepoy Muddasir Ejaz, 25, from Layyah
• Sepoy Manzar Ali, 23, from Mardan

The ISPR said that in ensuing sanitisation operations, 14 khawarij were “sent to hell” by the security forces. The statement added that operations in the area would continue and “the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act will be brought to justice”.

“The security forces of Pakistan, in step with [the] nation, remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers and innocent civilians further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” the ISPR stated.

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack on the security convoy and paid tribute to the 13 martyred personnel for their sacrifice in a statement from his office.

“The martyrs ensured the security of the motherland by sacrificing their lives,” the president said, adding that those who give their lives to defend the homeland are “our real heroes”.

“Such a cowardly attack cannot dampen the morale of the nation,” Zardari said.

The president also paid tribute to the armed forces for killing 14 terrorists after the attack.

“[The] Pakistani nation and security forces are determined to root out Indian-sponsored terrorism,” he said. “Operations will continue until terrorism is completely eradicated.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the attack in a statement from his office, paying tribute to the 13 martyred security personnel.

Expressing grief over the injury of innocent civilians, the PM said, “Indian-backed terrorists committed [a] cowardly act. The entire nation salutes the martyrs.

“We are resolute to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country,” the PM stated.

Earlier, a statement from the KP chief minister’s office confirmed that eight security personnel were martyred in the blast. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the attack and expressed his condolences and prayers for the martyrdom of the personnel.

“I salute security personnel and their families who have sacrificed their lives for the country and the nation,” Gandapur was quoted as saying.

“Security forces have made unprecedented sacrifices to establish peace in the country and eliminate terrorism,” the CM added. “These sacrifices further raise the resolve and morale of the nation against terrorism.

“Everyone in the nation stands with security forces in the war against terrorism,” the statement concluded.

Initially, District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmed told Dawn.com that four civilians were injured in the “suicide attack” carried out through a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

The attack comes days after two soldiers were martyred and 11 terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in KP’s South Waziristan district.

On June 15, a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier was martyred in a targeted gun attack in Ladha tehsil of Upper South Waziristan district.

Earlier this month, 14 terrorists were killed in North Waziristan’s Datta Khel town during a security operation.

Militant groups were unable to significantly escalate their activities in the country last month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, which recorded 85 attacks in May compared to 81 in April.

The military has said India was using its “assets” to inte-nsify terrorist attacks in Pakistan, with ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry detailing “irr-e-futable evidence” of an Ind-ian military personnel’s involvement.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

The country ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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