Pakistan bombing overnight kills 8 more people: Police in northwest Pakistan said that eight people were murdered in a roadside explosion directed at the car of a local elder who opposed the Taliban.
Idrees Khan, the dead chairman of a local peace committee, was passing through the region when a roadside bomb struck his car, according to Saeed Khan, a top police officer in Swat.
He said that although early reports claimed five fatalities from the blast, subsequent studies found eight had perished, including two police officers.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a terrorist organization, affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility via its spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani in a statement.
He said the dead peace committee chief had been aiding security forces for several years.
Since May, the Pakistani Taliban have been negotiating a settlement in Kabul, Afghanistan.
However, sporadic terrorist strikes and security operations against militant hideouts have persisted, fueling worries that these negotiations may fail in the following weeks or even days.
There is still an official cease-fire in effect between Pakistan and the TTP.
The Afghan Taliban, a distinct organization, associated with the Pakistani Taliban, is hosting the negotiations in Kabul.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan for one year. According to authorities, the Pakistani Taliban, whose militants and commanders have been hiding in Afghanistan, have gained strength due to that takeover.
Islamabad has pressed the new Taliban leaders in Afghanistan to stop terrorist organizations like the TTP from utilizing Afghan soil to launch operations within Pakistan.
Before the Taliban seized power in the neighboring country, Islamabad and Kabul often swapped accusations and accused each other of harboring terrorists.
