Five soldiers and at least 13 civilians were killed on Tuesday in a suicide bombing of twins targeting military compounds in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, according to the military.
At least 32 people were injured in the attack in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military media building, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement Wednesday.
“The perpetrator attempted to violate the safety of the cantonment,” ISPR said. “The attacker plunged two explosive vehicles into the perimeter wall,” after security forces responded to the invasion.
The military said five soldiers were killed in a shootout that killed 12 militants. Four suicide bombers were also killed.
Most of the civilian casualties emerged as buildings containing mosques and residential facilities, and collapsed with the power of the explosion.
“Several suicide explosions caused partial collapse of the boundary wall and damage adjacent infrastructure,” ISPR said.
The Associated Press reported that Jaish Al-Fursan, a relatively little-known extremist group, had allegedly blamed the attack.
The military said Afghan citizens were involved in the attack. The Kawarij ring leader said it is Arabic used by the military to describe the fighters of the Pakistani Tehrik-e-Taliban, and that it planned and carried out an attack from Afghanistan.