Car Bomb Attack Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers

JAKARTA - A car loaded with explosives crashed into a Pakistani military convoy on Saturday in the city near the Afghan border. The suicide bombing resulted in 13 soldiers being killed.

Four Pakistani intelligence officials and a senior local administrator told Reuters the convoy was attacked in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district.

About 10 other soldiers were injured, some critical, and they were rushed to a military hospital, sources told Reuters on Saturday, June 28.

"The explosion was enormous," local administrators said, adding that city residents could see large amounts of smoke billowing from the scene from a very far distance.

A resident said the explosion rocked the windows of nearby houses, causing several roofs to collapse.

So far no one has claimed responsibility.

The Pakistani military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The unlawful district located next to Afghanistan has long been a safe haven for various Islamist militant groups, operating on both sides of the border.

Islamabad said militants ran a training camp in Afghanistan to launch attacks within Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies, saying militancy is a domestic problem in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Pakistan's Tereek-e-Taliban (TTP), a parent group of several Islamist militant groups, has long waged a war against Pakistan in an attempt to overthrow the government and replace it with its own Islamic government system.

Pakistan's military, which launched several attacks on militants, has largely been their main target.