PESHAWAR: Suicide bombers belonging to a militant group drove two explosive-laden cars into an army compound in Bannu on Tuesday evening, triggering massive explosions and killing eleven civilians, police told AFP.
“The death toll now stands at eleven, including three children and two women. At least 20 others were injured in both blasts,” a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.
The attack took place at Bannu, according to the officer, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which lies adjacent to the country’s formerly self-governed tribal areas.
“The blasts created two four-foot craters, and due to their intensity, at least eight houses in the locality have been damaged,” the police official said.
“Apart from two suicides, six militants were shot dead in an exchange of fire,” he added. An intelligence official told AFP that 12 militants had attempted to storm the compound after the suicide bombers. The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, which actively supported the Afghan Taliban in its war against the US-led NATO coalition since 2001. “Our fighters got access to an important target and took control,” the group said in a statement, without providing further details.
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