Suicide bombers attack Federal Constabulary lines in Bannu, Pakistan: official

Suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the main gate of the Federal Constabulary (FC) lines in Bannu on Tuesday morning, triggering a blast and a firefight with security forces, police said.

The assault is the latest in a string of militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent months, with police in Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur repeatedly targeted, says Dawn.

Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan said the attackers had managed to breach the compound, prompting a security operation. Bannu District Police Officer Saleem Abbas was leading the clearance inside the facility, he added.

At least four militants were killed in the exchange of fire, while five policemen were wounded, according to initial reports. Khan said the operation was in its "final phase".

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorism since the TTP ended its ceasefire deal with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase attacks.

Last month, police, alongside security forces in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas of Bannu, arrested "14 terrorist facilitators" and destroyed their hideouts.

On August 3, a police constable was martyred in a terrorist attack on a checkpoint in Bannu, where an exchange of fire also left three terrorists dead and three policemen injured.

In July, ter­rorists used a quadcopter to attack a police station in Miryan, Bannu, making it the fifth such attack at the installation in a month, reports Dawn.

According to data released by the Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the country witnessed an alarming spike in militant violence in August this year, registering a 74 per cent increase in militant attacks compared to July, becoming the "deadliest month in over a decade".