PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two suicide bombings breached a wall at a army base in northwestern Pakistan earlier than different attackers stormed the compound and had been repelled in violence that killed at the very least 12 individuals and wounded 30 others, in accordance with officers and a neighborhood hospital.
A gaggle affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed accountability for the assault in Bannu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and mentioned that dozens of members of Pakistani safety forces had been killed. The army didn’t instantly affirm any casualties, however Bannu District Hospital mentioned that at the very least a dozen individuals had been lifeless.
The 2 suicide bombers blew themselves up close to the wall of the sprawling army space, a safety official mentioned on situation of anonymity, as a result of he wasn’t licensed to talk with reporters.
“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment, but were eliminated,” the safety official mentioned.
The assault occurred after sundown, when individuals would have been breaking their quick through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Jaish Al-Fursan claimed accountability for the assault, the third militant assault in Pakistan since Ramadan began Sunday. In an announcement, the group mentioned the supply of the blasts had been explosive-laden automobiles.
Plumes of grey smoke rose into the air and gunshots continued after the 2 explosions, police officer Zahid Khan mentioned. 4 of these killed had been youngsters, hospital officers mentioned. The victims lived near the scene of the blasts.
A spokesman for Bannu District Hospital, Muhammad Noman, mentioned that the night blasts badly broken properties and different buildings.
“The roofs and walls collapsed and that’s why we are receiving casualties,” he mentioned.
Hospital director Dr. Ahmed Faraz Khan mentioned: “So far we have received 42 victims, 12 dead and 30 injured. A few of them are critical, but most are stable. All doctors, particularly surgeons and paramedical staff, have been called for duty as a medical emergency has been imposed.”
The blasts prompted the roof of a close-by mosque to break down whereas a variety of worshippers had been inside, rescue employees and provincial authorities spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif mentioned.
Rescue employees making an attempt to free individuals from beneath the rubble mentioned that that they had retrieved the physique of the mosque’s imam.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the assault and expressed his grief over the lack of life. The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, ordered an inquiry.
Militants have focused Bannu a number of instances. Final November, a suicide automobile bomb killed 12 troops and wounded a number of others at a safety publish.
In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car and different militants opened fireplace close to the outer wall of the army facility.