At least eight Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack when suicide bombers rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a military base perimeter wall in Bannu, near the North Waziristan tribal area. The attack, which occurred on Monday, involved ten assailants who were all neutralized by the soldiers, preventing a major catastrophe and saving many innocent lives.
The Pakistan Armed Forces reported that among the casualties were seven army members and one paramilitary soldier. The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, operating under the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) banner, which the army claims orchestrates terrorism from neighboring Afghanistan. The attack caused significant destruction, taking down the perimeter wall and allowing attackers to infiltrate the base.
The British colonial-era base, used historically for counterinsurgency operations, is surrounded by civilian homes that were affected by the blast. Local reports indicated that 141 people were wounded as fighters wearing suicide vests infiltrated the residential area, leading to a prolonged battle involving guns and rocket-propelled grenades lasting 26 hours.
This attack adds to the growing tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban administration of allowing cross-border attacks. The incident comes shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a new campaign to eliminate armed groups following a surge in violence. Additionally, suspected TTP fighters carried out another attack in Dera Ismail Khan, killing two security personnel and three assailants.
In early hours of 15 July 24, a group of ten terrorists attacked Bannu Cantonment. The attempt to enter the cantonment was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, which forced the terrorists to ram an explosive laden vehicle into perimeter wall of the cantonment. The suicide blast led to collapse of portion of the wall and damaged the adjoining infrastructure, resulting in shahadat of eight brave sons of soil that include: Naib Subedar Muhammad Shehzad (age: 44 years, resident of: District Poonch, AJK), Havildar Zil-e-Hussain (age: 39 years, resident of: District Khushab), Havildar Shahzad Ahmed (age: 28 years, resident of: District Neelum, AJK), Sepoy Ashfaq Hussain Khan (age: 30 years, resident of: District Muzzafarabad, AJK), Sepoy Sobhan Majeed (age: 22 years, resident of: District Muzzafarabad, AJK), Sepoy Imtiaz Khan (age: 30 years, resident of: District Karak), Sepoy Arsalan Aslam (age: 26 years, resident of: District Bahawalpur) of Pakistan Army and Lance Naik Sabz Ali (age: 34 years, resident of: Lakki Marwat) of Frontier Constabulary. In the ensuing operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists as a result of which all ten terrorists were sent to h..ell. This timely and effective response by the security forces prevented major catastrophe, saving precious innocent lives.
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