4 Pakistani soldiers and 5 insurgents are killed in coordinated suicide attacks at military facility

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other insurgents opened fire near the outer wall of a military facility in northwestern Pakistan early Monday, killing at least four soldiers and wounding dozens, including civilians, officials said.

There was no immediate comment from the military about the attack that happened in Bannu, a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

However, four local security officials said all five attackers had been killed.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

However, a local police official Tahir Khan said security forces quickly responded to the “coordinated attack” and foiled an attempt by the insurgents to enter the sprawling military facility in the city of Bannu which mainly houses offices of the military and homes of security forces.

He also said army helicopters and ground forces were still reaching the area to track more militants.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, mostly in the northwest, in recent years.

In January 2023 militants killed at least 101 people, mostly police officers, when a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman attacked a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but the suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban who have stepped up attacks on security forces across the country in recent months.

Pakistani Taliban — who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — are a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban. TTP has stepped up its attacks on security forces since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.