Islamabad: A car bomb attack in Pakistan has killed at least 13 soldiers and injured civilians. Pakistani officials reported that a suicide bomber drove a vehicle laden with explosives into a military convoy in the north-western tribal region of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

According to BBC, Pakistan has accused India of backing the militants responsible for the attack, a claim swiftly denied by Delhi. The Pakistani army released a statement noting that in addition to the military casualties, three civilians, including two children and a woman, were severely injured in the incident.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he described as a “cowardly act.” Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense, especially after a deadly attack in April on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in 26 fatalities. India accused Pakistan of harboring the militants responsible for the attack, escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

In May, India retaliated with airstrikes targeting what it claimed were terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan rejected these claims, responding with missile launches and drone deployments into Indian territory. The situation de-escalated on 10 May when US President Donald Trump announced a “full and immediate ceasefire” between the two nations.

Pakistan has experienced an increase in terrorist incidents following the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani Taliban in November 2022.