Report in Daily Times, Feb 12, 2023
At least three people have been killed and 22 others injured in a suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan, officials told RFE/RL. The attack on February 11 was carried out in the Mirali subdivision of the North Waziristan tribal district on security forces that were escorting a local petroleum company convoy, district officials said. Officials told Radio Mashaal that the suicide bomber drove his vehicle into the convoy at the Kajori security checkpoint.Officials added the three dead had not yet been identified and that the 22 injured included 15 workers of Mari Petroleum Company and seven security force members. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which appears to be the first one of 2023 in North Waziristan. Nine suicide attacks were carried out in North Waziristan in 2022 that killed several Pakistani security forces.
North Waziristan was once the stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However, the Pakistani military conducted a massive operation in mid-2014 to expel the militants. Locals say TTP militants have begun to return to the area, sparking large-scale protests against the attacks and insecurity in several tribal districts. The TTP ended its months-long cease-fire with Islamabad in late November, following more than a year of inconclusive peace talks.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1062029/nwaziristan-suicide-attack-leaves-3-dead/
