Pakistan holds funeral prayers for 12 victims of double suicide bombing near military base in Bannu
A militant group linked with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in Bannu on Tuesday evening when two suicide bombers breached the wall surrounding the base.
Most of the local residents were breaking their daylong fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan or praying at a nearby mosque.
After the explosions, other attackers stormed the compound and set off a firefight with the troops.
The powerful blasts tore through walls and ripped off roofs and also severely damaged the mosque. Along with the 12 killed, 30 people were also wounded in the attack, some of whom were reported to be in critical condition.
The casualty figures did not include troops. It was not immediately known how many security forces were killed or injured in the assault or the subsequent gunfight.
On Wednesday, a mechanical digger was clearing away rubble where homes used to stand, and debris-covered prayer mats lay crumpled on the mosque floor.
A day of mourning was being observed, said Bannu community elder Alam Khan, and joint funeral prayers were to be held for the victims at a sports complex in the area.
Gunshots could still be heard early on Wednesday as security forces combed through the area, looking to clear it of any militants involved in the attack.
'All education institutions are closed,' Khan said. 'Most shops are also shut. Rescue workers have completed their operation by recovering the bodies of three deceased worshippers who were trapped under the collapsed roof of the mosque.'
Bannu is located in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan, and several armed groups are active there. A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
4 days ago
- Arab News
‘Deeply embarrassing': Afghan veterans hit by second UK data breach
LONDON: More than 3,000 Afghans, British troops and government officials have had their personal data breached following a cyberattack, the UK's Ministry of Defense has said. Some of the victims may have had their information hacked for a second time, following the ministry's high-profile Afghan data breach discovered in 2023, which was the subject of a superinjunction — preventing it from being publicly disclosed — until last month. The 2023 breach exposed the identities of thousands of Afghans who had served alongside British forces as part of the multinational decade-long conflict against the Taliban. Many of them reported receiving threats after the leaked database was apparently discovered by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. Following the latest incident, an alert was sent to about 3,700 affected people on Friday, The Times reported. They were told that their personal information had been breached, including name, date of birth and passport number. The data was included in a record of information relating to evacuation flights from Afghanistan to England's Stansted Airport between January and March 2024. Inflite, a third-party subcontractor hired by the ministry, held the data. The firm suffered a ransomware attack thought to have been carried out by criminal gangs. More than 100 British personnel were victims of the breach. The rest of those affected are Afghans. The ministry said in its alert: 'There is a risk that some of your or your family's personal information may be affected. This may include passport details (including name, data of birth, and passport number) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy reference numbers.' Those alerted were requested to 'please remain vigilant and be alert to unexpected communication or unusual activity.' So far, there is no evidence that any of the information has been released publicly or on the dark web, ministry sources told The Times. The latest leak adds to growing embarrassment over the UK's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, which was completed in 2021. Sir Mark Lyall Grant, former UK national security adviser, told the BBC's 'Newsnight' program that both breaches were 'deeply embarrassing' for the government. Verification as part of the relocation process is necessary, but the British government must 'honor the commitment they made,' Grant added. 'We do need to move faster to protect people who genuinely are at risk of being victimized and persecuted by the Taliban if they go back,' he said. It was revealed that the government's multi-year superinjunction on the previous Afghan data breach cost taxpayers more than $3 million. An emergency government scheme that was hidden from the public in response to the breach may have cost more than $9 billion, as part of efforts to bring at-risk Afghans to Britain. Adnan Malik of Barings Law, which is representing 1,400 Afghans affected by the previous data leak, said: 'This is public money they used to cover their own backs. Barings Law will continue to pursue justice for all of those affected, and stop the deceit on behalf of the Ministry of Defense.' A former interpreter who suffered war injuries in Afghanistan and now campaigns for his Afghan ex-colleagues told The Times that he was 'truly worried' about how the ministry has mishandled the personal data of Afghan allies. 'Once again, they have failed to protect those who stood shoulder to shoulder with them in the fight against terrorism,' said Rafi Hottak. 'How can it be that we've now had three separate data leaks involving one of the most vulnerable group of people?' A spokesperson for Inflite said: 'While we cannot comment on specific details of the data security incident or any communications related to it due to the sensitivity of the matter, we remain fully committed to protecting our systems, data, and the interests of all our stakeholders.' A government spokesperson said: 'We were recently notified that a third-party subcontractor to a supplier experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to a small number of its emails that contained basic personal information. 'We take data security extremely seriously and are going above and beyond our legal duties in informing all potentially affected individuals. 'The incident has not posed any threat to individuals' safety, nor compromised any government systems.' -ENDS-
Arab News
12-08-2025
- Arab News
Saudi forces crack down on drug offenders
RIYADH: Saudi authorities this week arrested foreign nationals across the Kingdom for various drug offenses, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. Security patrols in Madinah arrested two Pakistani residents for possessing 1.7 kg of methamphetamine, also known as shabu. Border Guard land patrols in the Ad-Daer sector in Jazan region arrested 14 Ethiopian nationals for smuggling 340 kg of qat. Security patrols in Jazan also thwarted the smuggling of 60,279 unregulated medical tablets and 33 kg of hashish in Fifa governorate. Initial legal procedures were completed against the violators and the seized items were handed over to the competent authorities. Security forces called on citizens and residents to report all available information about drug smuggling or promotion by calling the numbers 911 in the Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and Eastern Province regions, and 999 and 994 elsewhere in the Kingdom. All reports will be handled with strict confidentiality.
Arab News
12-08-2025
- Arab News
Pakistan launches new security operation against militants near Afghan border
KHAR: Pakistani security forces have launched a 'targeted operation' against militants in a restive northwestern district bordering Afghanistan, displacing tens of thousands of residents who have fled to safer areas, officials said Tuesday. There was no formal announcement of the launch of the offensive in Bajaur, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but a government administrator, Saeed Ullah, said it was not a large-scale operation and only insurgent hideouts were being hit to avoid civilian casualties. Another government administrator, Shahhid Ali, said the number of displaced people had rapidly increased to nearly 100,000. Residents reported that security forces, backed by helicopters, struck militant hideouts in the mountainous areas along the Afghan border. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the operation was ongoing. Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and have been living there openly since the Taliban takeover, and some have crossed the border back into Bajaur and carried out attacks. Pakistan also carried out a major operation in Bajaur against Pakistani and foreign militants in 2009, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
