A devastating car bomb attack in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday evening left at least 12 people dead, including three children, and dozens more injured.
The explosions occurred in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where two explosive-laden vehicles were detonated near an army compound.
A militant group quickly claimed responsibility for the assault, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The attack, which took place as civilians were breaking their fast during Ramadan, was met with strong condemnation from government officials.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decried the act, saying, “cowardly terrorists who target innocent civilians during the holy month of Ramadan” and declaring that they “deserve no mercy.”
Authorities reported that the explosions were followed by a gunfight as militants attempted to storm the compound.
A security official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that 12 people had died, including women and children, and 32 others sustained injuries.
“The blasts created two four-foot craters, and due to their intensity, at least eight houses in the locality have been damaged,” a police official told AFP.
The faction responsible for the attack, linked to Hafiz Gul Bahadur, has been known to support the Afghan Taliban since 2001.
The group claimed that its fighters had “got access to an important target and took control,” though it provided no further details.
President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack, labeling it “heinous” and affirming that the “entire nation rejects such despicable acts.”
Eyewitness accounts painted a grim picture of the destruction. Nadir Ali Shah, a 40-year-old local resident injured in the attack, described the moment the explosion occurred.
“The force of the explosion threw me several feet away… The explosion was so intense that it caused significant damage to the neighbourhood,” he said from a hospital bed. “It was a scene of apocalyptic devastation.”
This latest attack comes on the heels of another deadly bombing at a religious school in the same province, which claimed the lives of six people, including key Taliban figures.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, similar attacks in Pakistan have increased.
Last July, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group targeted the same army compound in Bannu, using an explosive-laden vehicle to breach the boundary wall, resulting in the deaths of eight Pakistani soldiers.
The Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad reported that more than 1,600 people were killed in militant attacks in Pakistan last year, marking the deadliest period in a decade.
Most of the violence remains concentrated in areas along the Afghan border. Islamabad has accused Kabul’s rulers of allowing militants to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks on Pakistan, a charge that the Taliban government denies.
