On Tuesday, suicide bombers targeted an army compound in Bannu, northwestern Pakistan, using two explosive-laden cars, resulting in the deaths of nine civilians, including three children and two women, with at least 20 others injured. The explosions created four-foot craters and damaged eight nearby houses. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group claimed responsibility, stating their fighters accessed an important target. This attack occurred shortly after another suicide bombing at a religious school and reflects a surge in violence in Pakistan since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021. Last year was notably deadly, with over 1,600 fatalities.
Peshawar:
On Tuesday evening, suicide bombers affiliated with a militant organization drove two vehicles packed with explosives into a military compound in northwestern Pakistan, leading to devastating explosions that resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, as reported by police to AFP.
“The current fatality count is nine, which includes three children and two women. Moreover, at least 20 other individuals sustained injuries from both explosions,” a high-ranking police official disclosed on the condition of anonymity.
This incident occurred in Bannu, a district within Pakistan’s troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders the country’s previously autonomous tribal regions.
“The explosions created two craters measuring four feet deep, and their severity caused damage to at least eight homes in the area,” the police official noted.
“In addition to the two suicide bombers, six militants were killed during a firefight,” he further stated.
An intelligence source informed AFP that 12 militants attempted to invade the compound following the actions of the suicide bombers.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has consistently backed the Afghan Taliban in its battle against the US-led NATO coalition since 2001.
“Our fighters accessed a significant target and took control,” the group mentioned in a statement, without offering any additional information.
This incident follows closely on the heels of a suicide bombing that killed six individuals at an Islamic seminary in Pakistan, attended by prominent Taliban leaders in the same region.
Since the return of Taliban authorities to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, such attacks have become more frequent in Pakistan.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur executed a similar operation at the same compound last July, detonating a vehicle filled with explosives against the boundary wall, resulting in the deaths of eight Pakistani soldiers.
According to the Islamabad-based analysis group, the Center for Research and Security Studies, last year marked the deadliest period in a decade for Pakistan, with a rise in attacks that claimed over 1,600 lives.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban government in Kabul of not eliminating militants who find refuge on Afghan territory as they plan to launch attacks on Pakistan—a charge that the Taliban government refutes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)