Suicide attack kills 7 Pakistani troops near Afghan border

Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan border on Friday, Pakistani security officials said, amid a fragile ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul that paused days of intense fighting between the former allies this month.



The South Asian neighbours engaged in fierce ground fighting, and Pakistan also launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing dozens and wounding hundreds, before they reached a 48-hour truce that is due to end at 1300 GMT on Friday.



The soldiers were killed in an attack by militants on a Pakistani military camp in north Waziristan, which also left 13 injured, five security officials said.



While one militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the boundary wall of a fort that served as a military camp, two others tried to get into the facility and were shot dead, they said.



Militant violence in Pakistan has been a major irritant in its relationship with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Kabul after the departure of U.S.-led forces in 2021.