4 Security Officers, 2 Children Killed in Bomb and Mortar Attacks in Pakistan

People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
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4 Security Officers, 2 Children Killed in Bomb and Mortar Attacks in Pakistan

People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR

A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security forces in restive northwestern Pakistan, killing four officers and wounding five others, officials said Thursday, and the same day two schoolchildren were killed when a mortar exploded near them elsewhere in the northwest.
The roadside bombing happened Wednesday in South Waziristan district, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, local police officer Dilawar Khan said.
The military in a statement confirmed the “martyrdom” of four officers, but said security forces also responded to the attack and killed five “Khwarij”, a term which is used by the military for the Pakistani Taliban.
In a statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the slain officers, The Associated Press reported.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has stepped up its assaults in the region since its ally the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Later the same day, a mortar fired by insurgents landed near a road in the Tirah valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, killing two schoolchildren who were going to school on foot, police said.
The Pakistani military has launched dozens of operations against the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents in South Waziristan and other former tribal regions nearby, but the militants continue to carry out frequent attacks.
On Thursday, Naqvi met with Chinese ambassador Jiang Zaidong in Islamabad to brief him about an investigation into an attack Tuesday in which a guard shot and wounded two Chinese nationals at a textile mill in the port city of Karachi, allegedly over a private dispute.



An 8-hour Russian Drone Barrage Keeps Kyiv on Edge as the War in Ukraine nears 1,000 Days

Firefighters work at a compound of a vegetable warehouse hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Firefighters work at a compound of a vegetable warehouse hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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An 8-hour Russian Drone Barrage Keeps Kyiv on Edge as the War in Ukraine nears 1,000 Days

Firefighters work at a compound of a vegetable warehouse hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Firefighters work at a compound of a vegetable warehouse hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Dozens of Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a nighttime attack that lasted eight hours, authorities said Thursday, as Russia kept up its relentless pounding of Ukraine after almost 1,000 days of war.
Russian forces fired lone drones and swarms of drones that entered Ukrainian airspace from various directions and at a variety of altitudes, officials said, in an apparent attempt to stretch air defense systems and unnerve city residents, The Associated Press said.
Ukrainian air defenses “neutralized” three dozen drones, but falling debris caused damage to a hospital and residential and office buildings in the capital, local authorities said, including a blaze on the 33rd floor of an apartment building.
At least two people were reported injured.
Drone attacks on Kyiv have recently been occurring almost daily, with the nighttime explosions and the continuous buzzing sound of drones keeping the city on edge. Russia is deploying about 10 times more Iranian-made Shahed drones than it was this time last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week.
Ukraine’s forces are struggling to match the might of Russia’s military, which is much bigger and better equipped. Western support is crucial for Ukraine to sustain the costly war of attrition. The uncertainty over how long that aid will continue has deepened, however, with the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. He has repeatedly taken issue with US aid to Ukraine.
Russia, meanwhile, is trying to grind down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight and sap the West’s support for Kyiv by drawing out the conflict.
The Russian barrages mostly involve Shahed drones. They are suited to terrorizing civilians, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of the state Center for Countering Disinformation.
Russia is aiming to save and stockpile its missiles, which are much more powerful than drones, Kovalenko claimed Thursday. Russia has used missiles effectively in its campaign to knock out Ukraine’s power grid.
Also, the drone attacks gradually wear down Ukraine’s air defenses, making it more vulnerable to future missile launches.
Power outages were reported in the Zhytomyr region, which borders Kyiv to the west, following a Russian attack there, according to the energy company Zhytomyroblenergo.
Another Russian drone attack injured one person in the southern city of Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said, as drone debris damaged an 11-story residential building.