A suicide attack took place in northwest Pakistan on Sunday. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest as a Pakistani army vehicle passed through a market in Miran Shah, North Waziristan province, just 25 km from the Afghan border. Three children, aged 4 to 11, and three soldiers were killed, the Pakistani army said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that “murderers of innocent children are the enemies of humanity and Islam”. “We will not be at peace until we hunt down these barbarians and those who support them,” he added.
A new TTP attack?
The attack has not been claimed. But the Pakistani Taliban of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have long been active in this border area. A distinct group from the Afghan Taliban, but driven by the same ideology and a long common history, the TTP carried out countless attacks that bloodied Pakistan between its creation in 2007 and 2014.
Then weakened by intense army operations, it has been back in force for more than a year, forcing Islamabad to open negotiations, accompanied by a ceasefire, at the end of last year for the first times since 2014, with the mediation of the Afghan Taliban. These discussions came to nothing. But the TTP earlier this month declared a new ceasefire for the Islamic holiday of Eid, which has been extended until May 16. But the TTP brings together different currents, which do not always respect all the decisions taken by the group’s management.
