At least 12 people were killed and 30 injured when terrorists rammed two explosive-laden cars into the perimeter of Pakistan’s Bannu military cantonment.
The shootout resulted in the deaths of six attackers.
The attackers blew up the trucks at the entrance after being apprehended by security guards stationed near the military complex.
A group linked to the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, claiming that dozens of Pakistani security forces were killed.
A security official said the two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the wall of the sprawling military area.
Reports say the attack happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
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 immediate investigation.
