An explosion in a house kills 2 children in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful explosion ripped through a house in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, killing at least two children and wounding some others. Police were still investigating what caused the blast including whether someone was handling explosives to make bomb. The blast happened in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents often attack security forces. Also Thursday, a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off an explosive device prematurely on a deserted road in Charsadda district, killing himself but harming no one else. The target was unclear. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from the Afghan Taliban but have been emboldened by the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.