December 19, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
Early this morning, a powerful explosion struck a military fort in the Boya area of North Waziristan, damaging the fort’s western wall. Several houses located near the fort in Boya village also sustained severe damage. The blast occurred at a time when residents were heading to work, and children were preparing to leave for school.
Muhammadullah, a resident of the village, happened to leave his home later than usual today. He had only walked a short distance when a powerful blast suddenly occurred, the force of which threw him backward. Moments later, he saw smoke rising from the fort and heard the deafening sound of the explosion.
“I was slowly walking from inside the village toward the road, about 300 meters from the fort, when a strong gust suddenly pushed me backward. When I looked up, there was smoke everywhere, followed by a loud explosion. I immediately ran back and took shelter inside a nearby shop, which was fortunately open at the time. Due to the intensity of the blast, the shop also filled with smoke, and within moments, heavy firing began,” he said.
According to local residents and social media posts, the explosion was so powerful that doors and windows of nearby houses and mosques were shattered. Smoke spread as far as the neighboring villages of Landi Syedabad and Muhammad Khel to the south. Residents also reported hearing the blast in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, located about 17 kilometers east of the fort. Several people were injured when the roofs of nearby houses collapsed and were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Miranshah.
At the hospital, Malik Shariat Khan, a resident of Boya village who accompanied the injured, said that approximately 15 people, including children, sustained minor injuries due to collapsing roofs of houses near the fort. He added that there were no civilian fatalities.
Malik Shariat Khan appealed to the local administration and government to assist the affected families, warning that their hardships could worsen during the winter season due to the lack of basic facilities in damaged homes.
It is worth noting that a NADRA office is also located adjacent to the security forces’ fort in Boya, where Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) services are also provided. Some staff members from remote areas reside there to facilitate these services. The explosion caused severe damage to the NADRA office building as well. Computers and other equipment were smashed and scattered across the floor, and cracks were visible in the walls.
Security sources said that an attack on a security forces’ battalion headquarters in Boya, North Waziristan, was foiled on December 19 when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the fort’s western wall. Four to five militants then attempted to enter the compound, but security forces repelled the assault, killing three attackers on the spot. One militant was reportedly surrounded and later killed during the clearance operation.
The sources added that the attackers caused only partial damage to the outer wall. They further stated that under Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, security forces have intensified actions against what they describe as Fitna al-Khawarij (a term used by the Pakistani state to refer to terrorists, specifically those belonging to the banned group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as “Fitna-al-Khawarij”) across the country and vowed to continue operations until all militants are eliminated.