Eight Pakistani soldiers killed in suicide attack: military

The army said on Monday morning that ten insurgents had attempted to enter an area containing military installations, members of the armed forces and their families, but their attempt had been thwarted.

They then rammed a “vehicle loaded with explosives into the perimeter wall,” broke through it and damaged an adjacent building – killing eight soldiers and paramilitary forces.

All ten insurgents were killed in the ensuing battle, the military said; there was no information on the number of injured.

However, a senior local government official told AFP that 141 people were injured after five fighters equipped with suicide vests “infiltrated the residential area”.

They engaged in open combat with firearms and anti-tank grenades for 26 hours, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.

The area was cordoned off on Monday and the militant group Jaish-e-Furasan Muhammad claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that “significant damage was caused”.

Bannu in the border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is located 40 kilometers from Afghanistan.

The military’s public relations wing said Jaish-e-Furasan Muhammad’s umbrella organization “operates from Afghanistan and has used Afghan soil in the past to orchestrate terrorist attacks in Pakistan.”

Since the Taliban returned to power three years ago, there has been a dramatic increase in militant attacks in Pakistan’s border regions.

Last year, the number of casualties reached a six-year high: more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants were killed, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.

Sharif announced in June a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign called “Resolve for Stability” to quell the increasing attacks.

Islamabad accuses the new rulers in Kabul of failing to eradicate militants seeking refuge on Afghan soil while they prepare to attack Pakistan.

The Taliban government insists that it will not allow foreign militant groups to operate from Afghanistan, but relations between Islamabad and Kabul have soured over the issue.

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