Less than eight months after a Pakistani Taliban group attacked the Bannu Cantonment base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, another outfit of the militant group stormed the compound following two suicide bombings.
At least 12 people were killed and 30 others wounded in the attack. These included five women and four children. Since the militants chose to attack after sunset, most of the personnel were breaking their fast during Ramadan. Most of the casualties are members of Pakistani security forces.
Pakistan: Major Taliban attack on Pak Army Brigade HQ being reported in Bannu district, a suicide car bombing followed by an ongoing assault involving multiple fidyaeen attackers has been launched.
— WLVN (@TheLegateIN) March 4, 2025
Blast heard from over 15 km away.
Video of first blast: pic.twitter.com/uOjWipEDxW
Several houses also collapsed after roofs and walls were blown up. An adjacent mosque at the entrance of Bannu Cantonment caved in, trapping worshippers beneath the debris, according to the Dawn.
The attack began with two suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall of the military base. Six more attackers tried to enter the compound but they were neutralised by the military in a shootout.
Bannu Cantonment is currently facing an insurgent attack in Pakistan.
— Adil Raja (@soldierspeaks) March 4, 2025
The flaw in the military junta's strategy of creating terrorism to sell counterterrorism as a product is that this plan often becomes the first casualty once executed. This has been observed repeatedly, with… pic.twitter.com/kcdkbR4kMV
Jaish Al-Fursan Muhammad, affilited to the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. This was the third attack in Pakistan since Sunday when Ramadan started.
On July 15, 2024, Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Pakistani Taliban attacked the Bannu Cantonment before dawn. The militants blew up a vehicle filled with explosives close to the boundary wall and damaging infastructure. The attack killed eight soldiers and injured 141 others. All 10 militants were eliminated.
Notably, Jaish Al-Fursan Muhammad is a faction of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
On October 14, 2024, five militants clad in burqa attacked Iqbal Shaheed Police Lines, killing four police personnel.
