12 killed, 30 wounded in Pakistan military base attack launched by suicide bombers

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Two suicide bombings breached a wall at a military base in northwestern Pakistan before other attackers stormed the compound and were repelled in violence that killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 others, according to officials and a local hospital.

A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Bannu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and said that dozens of members of Pakistani security forces were killed. The military didn’t immediately confirm any casualties, but Bannu District Hospital said that at least a dozen people were dead.

The two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the wall of the sprawling military area, a security official said on condition of anonymity, because he wasn’t authorized to speak with reporters.

“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment, but were eliminated,” the security official said.

The attack happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Jaish Al-Fursan claimed responsibility for the attack, the third militant assault in Pakistan since Ramadan started Sunday. In a statement, the group said the source of the blasts were explosive-laden vehicles.

Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and gunshots continued after the two explosions, police officer Zahid Khan said. Four of those killed were children, hospital officials said. The victims lived close to the scene of the blasts.

A spokesman for Bannu District Hospital, Muhammad Noman, said that the evening blasts badly damaged homes and other buildings.

“The roofs and walls collapsed and that’s why we are receiving casualties,” he said.

Hospital director Dr. Ahmed Faraz Khan said: “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 caused the roof of a nearby mosque to collapse while a number of worshippers were inside, rescue workers and provincial government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif said.

Rescue workers trying to free people from underneath the rubble said that they had retrieved the body of the mosque’s imam.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed his grief over the loss of life. The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, ordered an inquiry.

Militants have targeted Bannu several times. 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.