ISLAMABAD, May 11, (V7N) – Pakistan’s foreign ministry announced Monday that it had summoned Afghanistan’s top diplomat in Islamabad after concluding that a weekend suicide bombing was “masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan.”

The attack occurred Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, followed by militants opening fire on police. At least 15 people were killed, according to officials.

A senior administrative officer in Bannu, near the Afghan border, told AFP that militants used quadcopters and heavy weaponry during the assault, with more than 100 fighters involved.

The US embassy in Islamabad expressed condolences on X, saying it was “deeply saddened by the tragic events in Bannu” and adding that Pakistan’s citizens “deserve security, peace, and a future unburdened by the scourge of terrorist violence.”

Militant activity has surged in Pakistan’s border regions in recent years. Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly denied accusations that Afghan territory serves as a safe haven for militants. Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated sharply, with recent months seeing Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan cities amid escalating tensions.

END/WD/RH/