Islamabad, Pakistan – A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy near the Afghan border Saturday, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers as thousands of troops deployed to thwart a call for an anti-government holy war.
Another suicide car bomber struck a convoy elsewhere in the border region early today, killing more than 10 security personnel, police said.
The escalating violence along the frontier, a haven for Pakistani and foreign extremists, follows the government’s bloody attack on Islamabad’s Red Mosque that sparked calls for revenge from radical groups.
Pakistani commandos overran the mosque Wednesday, ending an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant supporters. More than 100 died during the standoff.
With today’s attack, at least 63 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in the north since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.
Twenty-nine troops were wounded in Saturday’s attack in North Waziristan, one of the deadliest suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months, said Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad.
Although no one claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide attack, Arshad said he could not rule out the possibility that it was a reaction to the assault on the mosque.
Today, a convoy of army and paramilitary troops was attacked in a mountainous area bordering Afghanistan, police said. Troops opened fire, and a gun battle was continuing.
