At Pakistan Wedding, a Deadly Attack

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest among guests at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding 25, police said. The attack took place at the home of Noor Alam Mehsud, a pro-government community leader in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said a local police chief. He said officers transported the victims to a hospital, where some of the wounded were listed in critical condition, per the AP. The ceremony was underway, with guests dancing to the beat of drums, when the bomber struck.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, who've carried out numerous attacks in the country in recent years. The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban retuned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, when US and NATO troops left the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover there.