3 killed in suspected drone attack in northwestern Pakistan

Three members of the same family, including two children, were killed and eight others injured after a suspected quadcopter drone dropped an explosive device on a house in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said Thursday.

The attack occurred late Wednesday near the Dama Dola area of War Mamund tehsil in Bajaur district, bordering Afghanistan.

Saeed Ur Rahman, district deputy police chief, told Anadolu by telephone that three people were killed and eight others wounded in the explosion. The victims belonged to the same family, he said.

Police launched an investigation to determine who was behind the attack and are collecting forensic evidence from the site. Authorities have yet to identify the perpetrators or confirm the origin of the suspected drone.

The latest incident comes amid growing concern over a series of suspected drone attacks in Bajaur in recent months.

On Sunday, a suspected drone strike in the district killed a child and injured a woman. In May, two schoolchildren were killed after a quadcopter drone reportedly struck a hilly area of Bajaur.

The attack also follows a sharp rise in tensions between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s military said it shot down four rudimentary drones allegedly launched from Afghanistan, while Kabul said it had carried out airstrikes against what it described as Daesh (ISIS) hideouts inside Pakistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing "terror" groups to operate from its territory, an allegation Kabul denies.