ISIS claims Pakistan suicide bombing, underlining twin security threats

When a suicide bombing rocked a political gathering in northwest Pakistan over the weekend, suspicion immediately fell upon the Pakistani Taliban group, whose growing footprint and mounting attacks have alarmed security officials in the country.

But on Monday, the smaller Islamic State group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP, claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 46 people at a political convention in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack underscored the rival security challenges that Pakistan is facing and the fears that the two rival militant groups may be engaged in a cycle of violence as they compete for attention and followers.

There is a growing concern that Pakistan’s “terrorism threat has fallen under the radar and that it has not been prioritized by the government,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.

Read more: Washington Post