Suicide bomber, gunmen attack security post in northwest Pakistan, killing 15 security personnel

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By Associated Press | Posted by TOE A  suicide bomber backed by gunmen attacked  a security checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 15 members of the security forces, the military said Friday. In a statement, the military said troops repelled the overnight assault in Tank, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and killed 12 militants. The military blamed the attack on the  Pakistani Taliban , known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies. There was no immediate comment from the group. According to the military, the attackers attempted to storm the checkpoint but were pushed back by security forces before ramming an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall, triggering a powerful blast that severely damaged the checkpoint. The military said those ...
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Army returns to strategic east Congo town after rebel withdrawal

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Congolese soldiers and combatants from a pro-government militia have re-entered the eastern town of Uvira, residents said on Monday, just over a month after it fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels ‍in a blow to peace efforts mediated by the Trump administration.

M23 entered Uvira, an important base for the Congolese army near the border with Burundi, on December 10, days after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan leader Paul Kagame met President Donald Trump in Washington and reaffirmed a U.S.-brokered peace deal.

The capture marked the rebels’ biggest ‌gains in months, fueling fears of regional spillover from fighting ‌that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands in the last year.

M23 staged a lightning advance in January 2025 and still holds more territory than ever before, including Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces respectively.

HEAVY ​FIGHTING, LOOTING

After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in December that Rwanda’s actions in mineral-rich eastern Congo were violating the peace deal, M23 ‍pledged to withdraw from Uvira to give peace ​talks a chance.

Heavy fighting has continued on the outskirts of ​Uvira, and M23 and the Congolese government on Sunday traded accusations of looting ‍inside the town.

Two residents and a civil society activist based in Uvira said on Monday that Congolese soldiers and members of the Wazalendo militia returned over the weekend and were visible throughout the town, having retaken positions they occupied before M23’s arrival.

Jean-Jacques Purusi, the Kinshasa-appointed governor of South Kivu province ‍where Uvira is located, said the Gatumba crossing at the Congo-Burundi border, which closed when M23 took Uvira, would soon reopen.

Rwanda denies backing M23 and has blamed ‍Congolese and Burundian forces for ‍the renewed fighting. A report by a United Nations ​group of experts in July assessed that Rwanda exercised ​command and ⁠control over the rebels.

The United States has hosted talks ‌between Congo and Rwanda, while Qatar has hosted separate talks between Congo and M23.

During a meeting in Togo focused on eastern Congo, African leaders on Saturday reaffirmed their support for the Doha talks and called for them to resume without delay.

Source: Thomson Reuters



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/WPNhEIz

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