PESHAWAR: Schools and shops closed as residents of a northwestern Pakistani city prepared for the funeral ceremonies on Wednesday for 12 people killed in a twin suicide bombing that targeted a military base the day before.
A militant group linked with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in Bannu on Tuesday evening when two suicide bombers breached the wall surrounding the base.
Most of the local residents were breaking their daylong fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan or praying at a nearby mosque.
After the explosions, other attackers stormed the compound and set off a firefight with the troops.
The powerful blasts tore through walls and ripped off roofs and also severely damaged the mosque. Along with the 12 killed, 30 people were also wounded in the attack, some of whom were reported to be in critical condition.
The casualty figures did not include troops. It was not immediately known how many security forces were killed or injured in the assault or the subsequent gunfight.
On Wednesday, a mechanical digger was clearing away rubble where homes used to stand, and debris-covered prayer mats lay crumpled on the mosque floor.
A day of mourning was being observed, said Bannu community elder Alam Khan, and joint funeral prayers were to be held for the victims at a sports complex in the area.
Gunshots could still be heard early on Wednesday as security forces combed through the area, looking to clear it of any militants involved in the attack.
“All education institutions are closed,” Khan said. “Most shops are also shut. Rescue workers have completed their operation by recovering the bodies of three deceased worshippers who were trapped under the collapsed roof of the mosque.”
Bannu is located in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan, and several armed groups are active there. A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

PESHAWAR: At least 12 civilians were killed and another 32 injured on Tuesday evening after a pair of suicide bombers drove two explosive-filled vehicles into the wall of a military cantonment in Bannu district in northwestern Pakistan, security officials said. 

A local police official, Muhammad Ghulam, told Arab News two suicide bombings took place, followed by a gunbattle between militants and security forces in Bannu, which is in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The province has seen a surge in militant attacks in recent years that Pakistan blames on insurgents harboring in Afghanistan. Kabul denies it provides refuge to militants and says Pakistan’s security challenges are a domestic issue. 

The latest attack occurred in an area adjacent to a local market after sunset, when people were breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Video clips circulating on social media showed thick grey plumes of smoke rising into the air as gunshots rang out.

“Because of the intensity of the blasts, walls and roofs of residential compounds close to the military facility collapsed, which inflicted civilian casualties,” police officer Ghulam said. 

A military official with knowledge of the attack, declining to be named, said 12 civilians had been killed in the assault and 32 people were injured.

Bannu District Hospital director Dr. Ahmed Faraz Khan told AP: 

“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.”

Jaish-e-Fursan Muhammad, a militant faction affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released to media, saying dozens of security officials had been killed in the assault. Police and military officials have denied this. 

Muhammad Ali Saif, the spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government, said in a late night statement security forces had “foiled” the attack on the cantonment and most of the deaths were of civilians and had been caused by the destruction of buildings adjacent to the military facility.

“The explosions caused the roof of a nearby mosque to collapse, killing worshippers,” Saif said.

Noman Khittab, a spokesman at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Bannu, told Arab News the dead included women and children.

A security source said “verified intelligence” indicated the militants involved in the attack were in contact with their “handlers” in neighboring Afghanistan. Attacks by the Pakistani Taliban militant group have risen in recent years against Pakistani police and military in areas near the Afghan border.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban authorities in Kabul of facilitating cross-border militant attacks, a charge Afghan authorities deny.

Militants have targeted Bannu several times in the past. Last November, a suicide car bomb killed 12 troops and wounded several others at a security post.

In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other militants opened fire near the outer wall of the military facility.