RAWALPINDI:
Pakistani security forces say they have thwarted an armed assault on a military school in South Waziristan, killing at least two attackers. The military said militants attempted to storm Cadet College Wana on Sunday, using a vehicle bomb to breach the main gate.
Three attackers remained inside the college’s administrative building as of Monday afternoon, according to a statement from the military’s media wing. Pakistan’s military blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the attack, describing the group as an “Indian proxy” – a claim India has previously denied.
The incident evoked comparisons to the 2014 attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, when TTP gunmen killed more than 140 people, mostly children. The military statement said the attackers “tried to breach the college’s perimeter security” but were met by troops who killed two militants. An explosives-laden vehicle was then driven into the main gate, causing it to collapse.
It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties among students or staff at the college. The military said the remaining attackers were “in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan” and accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harbouring terrorist groups – allegations the Afghan Taliban have consistently rejected.
Pakistan has long accused its neighbour of providing safe haven to militants who launch cross-border attacks, while Afghanistan denies the presence of such groups on its soil.
Separate operations
In a separate statement, Pakistan’s military said it had killed 20 militants in two operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Eight were killed in North Waziristan’s Shawal area, while 12 died in Darra Adam Khel district, according to the statement. The claims could not be independently verified.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif both praised the security forces for what they described as successful counter-terrorism operations. The TTP, which shares ideological ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban but operates independently, has intensified attacks in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.
(WITH INPUT FROM APP)
