Why it matters:
The suicide bombing in Bannu underscores the escalating threat of militant violence in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region already grappling with instability. Targeting the Frontier Constabulary, a key paramilitary force, signals a bold challenge to state authority and security infrastructure.
The big picture:
The blast was followed by heavy gunfire and several explosions as militants reportedly entered the security installation, a local police officer said.
What he's saying:
Security officials said the attacker detonated explosives near a bomb disposal unit vehicle, killing 13 people.
At least 24 personnel, including 14 civilians, were also injured in the attack, the report said.
“A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy,” a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told the AFP news agency separately.
“The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,” a police officer posted in the district told AFP.
It was one of the deadliest single-day attacks on security forces in recent months in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Go deeper:
The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, or TPP.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan – a claim the Taliban denies.
About 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
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