On Tuesday evening, two suicide bombers detonated explosives near the security barrier at Bannu Cantonment, a military base in Pakistan’s volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The blasts allowed a group of attackers to storm the compound, triggering a violent clash with security forces. At least 12 people have been confirmed dead, including four children, and 30 others have been injured in the attack.
The assault took place just after Iftar, during the ongoing month of Ramadan, in what was clearly a planned attempt to breach the military installation. Local hospital officials reported that the victims lived in close proximity to the blast site, with nearby homes and structures heavily damaged by the explosions. The roof of a mosque near the scene also collapsed during the blasts, trapping several worshippers inside.
However, unconfirmed local reports suggest that some 14 HGB terrorists attacked the cantonment while there were two simultaneous explosions. Six terrorists were neutralised while six others were reportedly active.
Muhammad Noman, a spokesman for the Bannu District Hospital, confirmed that 42 victims had been admitted, including the 12 deceased. Some of the injured are in critical condition, though many others are reported as stable. Dr. Ahmed Faraz Khan, the hospital director, said that emergency medical teams were mobilized immediately, with all available staff called in to assist.
The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur (HGB) faction, a group that recently merged with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP, an insurgent group that has escalated its attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, is backed by the Afghan Taliban in its efforts against Pakistan. It must be noted that while it is not acknowledged by any of the two regimes, Taliban is using TTP against Pakistan while the latter is has increasingly relied on the ISIS-Khorasan Province (ISKP) to counteract the Afghan Taliban. This complex dynamic has resulted in rising violence in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, with cross-border implications fueling the unrest.
Since Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the TTP has rampantly risen inside the Pak territory. Various small and big terrorist organizations has pledged allegiance to it in last two years and have widened the operational and logistical capabilities of TTP.