A suicide bomber driving a three-wheel vehicle loaded with explosives killed at least seven people and injured 20 others in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, police said.
The attack came days after another suicide bombing in Bannu, where a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint before militants opened fire on police officers, killing at least 15 people.
Senior police official Muhammad Sajad Khan said the suspected attacker targeted officers stationed at a checkpoint.
“According to the initial reports, the suspected suicide attacker approached the two traffic police officers stationed at the checkpoint before blowing himself up,” Khan told AFP.
The latest violence comes amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Monday summoned Afghanistan’s top diplomat in Islamabad after concluding that a deadly suicide attack over the weekend was allegedly orchestrated by militants based in Afghanistan.
However, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly denied accusations that Afghan territory is being used as a safe haven for militants targeting Pakistan.
Relations between the neighbouring countries have deteriorated in recent months, leading to deadly clashes along the border and Pakistani airstrikes on locations inside Afghanistan.
