Islamabad/Peshawar: At least 22 soldiers were killed and 38 others injured in a powerful blast carried out by the Pakistani Taliban inside a cantonment in the country’s restive northwest on Sunday. The blast took place in a private car hired by the Frontier Corps to take troops from Bannu to North Waziristan, a haven for Pakistani Taliban and other al-Qaeda linked groups.
According to security sources, the car was rigged with explosives and the blast occurred in the cantonment area near Aamandi Chowk, Razmak Gate on Bannu-Miranshah Road in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu. Geo TV, quoting hospital sources, reported that 22 security men were killed while 38 have been injured.
However, a security source said 20 soldiers were killed in the attack. “Twenty Frontier Corps personnel were martyred and 30 were injured in the vehicle borne IED explosion in Bannu. No officer rank personnel were killed in the blast. The vehicle was rented by the Frontier Corps authorities,” the source said.
The injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital. Ten of the injured are in critical condition. Sources said the death toll might increase.
The Taliban have claimed the responsibility for the attack and said attacks on security forces will continue.
Security forces have cordoned off the area while rescue and relief operations continued. Bannu, which stands at the gateway to the semi-autonomous Waziristan tribal region, is 150 kilometres southwest of Peshawar.
The town has witnessed a number of attacks and was the scene of a massive jail break in April 2012 during which 384 prisoners escaped from its central prison. President Mamnoon Hussain strongly condemned the blast that resulted into loss of precious lives.
Such cowardly attacks can never weaken the resolve of law-enforcing authorities and the nation to continue pursuing their struggle against the scourge of militancy and terrorism, the President said in his message. (PTI)
