At least four soldiers were killed in northwestern Pakistan amid a surge in terrorist attacks in the country, the military said on July 6. Three soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in North Waziristan, a region that long served as a base for Islamist militants. In a separate incident, an army officer was killed during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. There has been a 79 percent increase in militant attacks in Pakistan during the first six months of 2023, according to the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.