At least 24 people were reported killed in the Tirah Valley of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but sharply different accounts emerged over whether stored bomb materials exploded or military aircraft struck residential buildings. The dispute extended to both the identities of those killed and responsibility for the destruction.
Police officer Zafar Khan initially said an explosion before dawn at a compound associated with the Pakistani Taliban killed 14 militants and at least 10 civilians, including children and women. Security officials said the group, formally called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, used the site to manufacture improvised explosive devices.
Three officials, speaking anonymously because they lacked authorization to comment, denied that an air operation had occurred. They said material inside the facility detonated, setting off further blasts and damaging neighbouring homes. Their estimate was 12 to 14 militants and eight to 10 civilians dead. They also alleged that civilians had been used as human shields. No public military statement confirmed their version.
Provincial lawmaker Suhail Afridi gave a contradictory account to the assembly. He said everyone killed was a civilian and alleged that jets fired on the area late Sunday. Thousands attended funerals and later joined a protest demanding accountability. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for an investigation after reports that aerial bombing had killed civilians.
DW cited another senior local police officer who put the toll at 23, including seven women and four children, and said jets hit four houses. That officer did not identify who conducted the alleged attack. Pakistan's government and armed forces had not claimed responsibility for a raid. The inconsistent figures and absence of independently presented physical evidence meant neither narrative could be treated as conclusively established.
Tirah lies near the Afghan border and contains several TTP hideouts. Pakistani forces were conducting operations against the organization elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Khyber and Bajaur. An operation launched in Bajaur in August displaced hundreds of thousands of residents before many returned after areas were cleared.
The TTP is distinct from Afghanistan's Taliban government but is allied with the Afghan movement. Its campaign inside Pakistan had intensified after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, and many of its members were believed to have found sanctuary across the border.
As of the event date, the safest supported conclusion was that a destructive incident killed at least 24 people, including civilians, at or near a site authorities linked to militants. Whether an accidental or secondary munitions blast caused the deaths, or whether aircraft attacked the location, remained unresolved and required the investigation sought by rights monitors and residents.
