Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Pakistani officials and the army, on Friday (April 28) reported that a militant on a motorcycle blew himself up amid an attack on a temporary military camp in northwest Pakistan. At least three soldiers and seven militants were killed in multiple clashes which occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with neighbouring Afghanistan. 

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Two officials told Reuters, on condition of anonymity that the troops had engaged with the militants for hours, Thursday night in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district. However, the Pakistan military seemingly confirmed the clashes later and said there were two other clashes which occurred on Thursday in the vicinity. 

“A motorcycle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself near security forces post,” the Pakistani army said in a statement, as quoted by news agency Reuters. It added that the attack was followed by a fierce exchange of fire between the troops and the militants. 

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The statement confirming the death of seven militants also said, “Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the seven killed terrorists.” The army indicated that the soldiers had been on their way to take up new posts at a nearby military base, adding that the troops repulsed two more militant attacks in the same area. 

This comes as Pakistan declared a new offensive against militants after a recent rise in the number of attacks. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

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The attack follows the deadly twin explosions, which occurred within an interval of 12 minutes, late Monday, and claimed the lives of 17 people, including six police personnel. The blasts occurred at an anti-terrorism police station at Kabal, Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which housed the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and a mosque. 

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While some media reports claimed that it was a suicide attack officials have formed a fact-finding committee and launched a probe into the incident.

KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, during his visit to the blast site, told the media that a preliminary investigation showed that the blasts were not an act of terrorism and occurred after explosives stored in a police depot caught fire. He added that there were also no indications of forced entry or gunshots. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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