What Happened in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Children Among 24 People Killed

At least 24 people, including militants and civilians, were killed in a bomb explosion in Tirah Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Monday (September 22).

According to reports citing police, bomb-making material allegedly stored at a compound by Pakistani Taliban fighters exploded. The blast destroyed several nearby homes.

Local police confirmed that at least 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed along with 14 militants.

It is alleged that two local Pakistani Taliban commanders, Aman Gul and Masood Khan, had established hideouts in the compound, which was being used as a factory for producing roadside bombs.

Militants have also been accused of using civilians as human shields and storing weapons in mosques in other districts.

Pakistan’s security forces are currently carrying out operations against the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber, Bajaur, and other parts of the northwest.

The country has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who are allied with the Afghan Taliban.

The TTP is a separate group but has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have found sanctuary in Afghanistan.

Reports also claimed that as many as eight LS-6 bombs were dropped from JF-17 fighter jets on the Pashtun-majority Matre Dara village around 2 a.m., destroying a large part of the settlement.

Pakistan reportedly carried out airstrikes and counter-terror operations targeting TTP hideouts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent districts.

Following the airstrikes, a protest was organized at Khyber Chowk against the killing of innocent people in Tirah Valley. The Akakhel tribe of Tirah has decided that women victims will be buried, while the bodies of men and children will be placed in front of the Corps Commander House, according to local sources.