Explosive-Laden Cars Crash into Pak Military Compound killing Nine

A blast resulted in the deaths of at least nine civilians, including three children and two women, while around 20 others were injured, according to a senior police official who spoke anonymously to AFP.

The explosions were so intense that they created two four-foot craters and damaged at least eight nearby houses.

Following the initial blasts, a group of militants attempted to storm the compound. However, security forces engaged them in a fierce gunfight, resulting in the deaths of six militants.

An intelligence official reported that a total of 12 militants had attempted to breach the compound after the initial explosions.

The devastating attack occurred in Bannu, a district in Pakistan’s turbulent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when two explosive-laden cars driven by suicide bombers crashed into an army compound.

The region of Bannu has been a frequent target for militant groups, including a similar attack last July where an explosive-laden vehicle was detonated against the compound’s boundary wall, killing eight Pakistani soldiers.

Last year was particularly violent for Pakistan, with over 1,600 fatalities due to militant attacks, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, which has historically supported the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, they asserted that their fighters had accessed an important target and taken control, though they provided no further details.

This attack is part of a series of recent militant assaults in Pakistan, which have increased since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Islamabad has accused the Taliban government in Kabul of failing to prevent militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, a claim the Taliban denies.