Militants attack Pakistan army compound in Bannu, killing nine civilians

Militants attacked an army compound in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday evening, killing nine civilians and sparking intense gun battles, police and security sources said.

Two suicide bombers drove explosive-laden vehicles into the Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during Iftar, the meal breaking the Ramadan fast, police said.

"The death toll now stands at nine, including three children and two women. At least 20 others were injured in both blasts," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The explosions caused widespread destruction, creating four-foot craters and damaging at least eight nearby houses, the officer said.

Security forces killed six militants in the ensuing firefight, while several others were encircled as operations continued, security sources said. An intelligence official told AFP that 12 militants had tried to storm the compound after the bombings.

The Jayesh Fursan Muhammad group, affiliated with the Hafiz Gul Bahadar network, claimed responsibility for the attack. According to sources, the group often receives support from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but new group names are sometimes used to obscure TTP's involvement.

The militant group claimed in a statement that 14 suicide attackers had infiltrated the cantonment.

According to District Headquarters Hospital Bannu, nine people died from the blast's impact, which caused walls and roofs to collapse. The dead included a man, a woman, and six children, while two bodies remained unidentified. Sixteen injured people, mostly women and children, were also admitted, the hospital said.

Ali Amin Gandapur, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, condemned the attack and sought a detailed report from police. He directed the district administration to ensure medical care for the injured.

"Such incidents during the holy month of Ramadan are highly condemnable and deeply tragic," he said.

The attack comes days after a suicide bomber killed six people at an Islamic school in the same province, attended by key Taliban leaders.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Hafiz Gul Bahadar carried out a similar attack on the same compound last July, killing eight Pakistani soldiers.

Last year was the deadliest in a decade for Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies.

Pakistan has accused Afghanistan's Taliban rulers of harboring militants staging cross-border attacks, a claim Kabul denies.