Suicide bombers ram explosive-laden cars into Pakistan army base; 9 dead, multiple injured

A militant group carried out a deadly attack on an army compound in northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing nine civilians. The attack involved two explosive-laden vehicles driven by suicide bombers, followed by an attempted infiltration by 12 militants.

Peshawar: Militants from an extremist group carried out a suicide attack on an army compound in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday evening. They drove two vehicles packed with explosives into the facility, causing powerful blasts that resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, police informed AFP.

"The death count now stands at nine, 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 occurred in Bannu, a district in Pakistan's volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders the country’s formerly self-administered tribal regions, according to the officer.

"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 informed AFP that a group of 12 militants tried to infiltrate the compound following the suicide bombings.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, known for its support of the Afghan Taliban during the US-led NATO war since 2001, claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Our fighters got access to an important target and took control," the group said in a statement, without providing further details.

The attack occurred just days after a suicide bomber targeted an Islamic religious school in the same province, killing six people. The school was known to be attended by key Taliban leaders.