Car bomb attack kills 27 in northwest Pakistan

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Pakistan’s military, reported that an overnight suicide attack on a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan killed 27 people, including members of the security forces and the attackers. The assault took place in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, and was reported on July 24, 2026.

According to the army account carried by Al Jazeera, 12 soldiers, two police officers and a forestry official were killed, as were 12 assailants. The attackers attempted to enter the checkpoint before driving an explosives-filled vehicle into its outer wall. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said four suicide bombers were involved. Authorities said a search operation was continuing in the area for others linked to the attack.

The attack is part of a wider deterioration in security in Pakistan’s northwest, where armed groups have long operated and where assaults on police, soldiers, officials and civilians have increased. Al Jazeera reported that attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have risen sharply, with neighbouring Bannu district seeing a recent wave of attacks and suicide bombings against police.

The violence has also intensified strains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly accused armed groups of using Afghan territory as a refuge, while Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies involvement and says the attacks are an internal Pakistani matter. Al Jazeera noted that the dispute has included Pakistani air raids on Afghan soil and Afghan return fire, adding to tensions between the neighbours.