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Four killed, 30 injured in explosions in northwestern Pakistan

File photo

By The South Asia Times

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - At least four people were killed and around 30 others injured in two explosions targeting civilians in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday evening, according to local officials and police sources.

The first explosion occurred in Rustam Bazaar in Wana, located in the South Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Local police said the blast struck a busy civilian area, killing two people and injuring more than 20 others, many of them passersby.

Several of the wounded were reported to be in critical condition.

A second explosion took place at a battery shop near Manjiwala Chowk on the Indus Highway in Lakki Marwat District.

Two people were killed and nine others injured in the blast, police officials said. Among those killed was the brother of the local head of a police peace committee.

Authorities said the shop where the explosion occurred belonged to one of the victims, identified as Shoaib Khan. The exact nature and cause of the explosion are still under investigation.

Rescue teams transported the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment. Security officials have launched investigations into both incidents as concerns grow over attacks targeting civilians in the region.

Terrorist attacks have increased in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwestern Balochistan province in recent years, with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) frequently targeting security forces and civilians in the region.

Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban of supporting TTP militants who are allegedly based in Afghanistan and carrying out attacks inside Pakistan. However, authorities in Kabul have repeatedly denied these allegations.

Violence has increased since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of international forces.