Nobody has but mentioned they carried out Sunday’s devastating blast at a political rally in Pakistan, however the nation’s Islamic State (IS) group has claimed to be behind a number of assaults within the space this yr.
The most recent atrocity – which has left at least 40 people dead – occurred on the outskirts of Khar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajour district in northwestern Pakistan.
The suicide bombing passed off at a rally organised by supporters of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl celebration, which IS has accused of hypocrisy for being a non secular Islamic group that has supported successive governments and the army.
Final yr, IS mentioned it carried out violent assaults in opposition to spiritual students affiliated with the celebration.
The celebration has a big community of mosques and madrassas within the north and west of Pakistan.
Bajour was as soon as a tribal area and a haven for Islamic militants, till a serious crackdown by Pakistan’s army in recent times.
It’s one in every of seven districts on the border with Afghanistan that had been as soon as a serious focus within the world struggle on terror.
Safety has definitely improved since then, after the northwest was introduced underneath the management of the Pakistani authorities in 2018.
However after the Taliban surged to energy in Afghanistan in 2021, there’s been a pointy rise in terror assaults in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Taliban group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has focused safety officers and cops.
As Pakistan prepares to carry an election, many analysts warn the fear risk is prone to rise.