Security Forces Foil Taliban Attack on Cadet College in Northwestern Pakistan

A major tragedy was averted in northwestern Pakistan late Monday when security forces foiled an attempt by Pakistani Taliban militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run college in Wana, South Waziristan. The attack, which began with a suicide car bombing, left several people injured and caused extensive damage to nearby homes, officials said.

Police reported that six attackers, including a suicide bomber, targeted the cadet college in Wana, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. The region was once a stronghold of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, and other militant groups.

According to local police chief Alamgir Mahsud, the assault began when the bomber attempted to breach the college’s main gate. Security forces stationed at the site immediately engaged the attackers, killing two militants outside the compound. Three others managed to infiltrate the premises before being trapped in an administrative block by troops and army commandos.

“All cadets, instructors, and staff remained safe,” Mahsud said. “The troops on duty acted swiftly, preventing the attackers from reaching the main building where hundreds of students and staff members were present.”

Mahsud added that a clearance operation was underway on Tuesday, with intermittent gunfire continuing as commandos searched the facility. He confirmed that several soldiers were wounded in the exchange, while 16 civilians were injured when the suicide blast damaged dozens of nearby homes.

The military has yet to release detailed information about the ongoing operation. However, an initial statement issued Monday described the attackers as members of the “Khawarij,” the term used by Pakistani authorities for the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The statement alleged that the assailants had external support from “handlers in Afghanistan and India,” claims Islamabad has frequently made against its neighbors. Both Kabul and New Delhi have denied any involvement.

The TTP, while denying responsibility for the latest attack, has been blamed for a recent rise in violence across Pakistan. The group, which shares ideological ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban, has intensified its activities since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021. Many of its leaders are believed to be operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

Officials said the attackers may have sought to replicate the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, in which Taliban gunmen killed 154 people, most of them children, at an army-run institution.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have become increasingly strained in recent months. Kabul accused Islamabad of conducting drone strikes on Oct. 9 that killed several people, triggering deadly border clashes before Qatar mediated a ceasefire on Oct. 19.

Despite two rounds of talks in Istanbul aimed at easing tensions, Pakistan has pressed Kabul to take action against militants using Afghan territory. The failure to secure written assurances from Afghanistan has left relations between the two sides fragile amid fears of renewed violence in the border region.