A midnight attack on a paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) outpost in the Lita Sar area of South Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, left at least 16 Pakistani troops dead and 15 others injured, according to official and local reports.
A large group of armed militants launched the attack on the 253rd Wing post, sparking an intense firefight. Hidayat Ullah, Deputy Superintendent of Police in South Waziristan, confirmed the incident, adding that a search operation is underway in the area. However, the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement through its affiliated media outlets. The group alleged that they inflicted over 50 casualties, including the deaths of 35 soldiers, though these figures differ from reports by Pakistani security sources, which confirmed 16 fatalities and 8 injuries among the troops.
The TTP described the attack as retaliation for the killing of Maulvi Talha Swati, a senior member of their leadership council, who died three days earlier in a clash with Pakistani forces in the Tank district near South Waziristan.
Maulvi Talha Swati, a prominent TTP commander and member of the group’s leadership council, was killed during a skirmish with Pakistani forces. Swati had recently accompanied the group’s former deputy chief, Mufti Muzahim, on a visit to South Waziristan, which was documented in a video released by Umar Media in October 2024.
According to Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher and analyst specializing in TTP activities, Swati’s death represents the loss of one of the highest-ranking TTP leaders in a direct clash with Pakistani forces in recent years.
South Waziristan has witnessed increased militant activity, with 1,581 TTP attacks reported across Pakistan this year, 323 of which occurred in the region alone. The escalation reflects the group’s growing operational capacity and its sustained campaign against Pakistani security forces.