PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 22, (AP): Bomb-making material allegedly stored at a compound by Pakistani Taleban fighters exploded on Monday in the country’s restive northwest, killing at least 24 people, including militants and civilians, police said. The blast occurred in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and destroyed several nearby homes.

Local police officer Zafar Khan said at least 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed, along with at least 14 militants. Khan alleged that two local Pakistani Taliban commanders, Aman Gul and Masood Khan, had established hideouts in the compound, which was being used as a factory for producing roadside bombs.

He accused the militants of using civilians as human shields and said they had recently stored weapons in mosques in other districts. Pakistan’s security forces are carrying out operations against the Pakistani Taleban in Khyber, Bajaur and other parts of the northwest. Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks, most claimed by the Pakistani Taleban, known as Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan or TTP, who are allied with the Afghan Taleban. The TTP is a separate group but has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have found sanctuary in Afghanistan.