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Two soldiers, five militants killed in suicide attack in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The Pakistani army said a security forces’ convoy was targeted by TTP militants during an operation against terrorists, the Dawn reported.
Two soldiers and five militants have been killed in a suicide attack in Pakistan's southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's province on Saturday, the army said.
The Pakistani army said a security forces’ convoy was targeted by “Fitna al Khwarij” during an intelligence-based operation (IBO), which was being conducted against terrorists in the Bannu district, the Dawn reported.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term Pakistan uses for terrorists belonging to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“A vehicle-borne suicide bomber was intercepted by the leading group, foiling his nefarious design to target innocent civilians/law enforcement personnel in Bannu City, averting major catastrophe,” the army statement reportedly said.
The authorities said that the TTP militants were located during the operation and give militants were killed in an encounter. However, the militants then rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into an army convoy.
Though Pakistan blamed TTP to be behind the attack, no group has claimed responsibility so far. Pakistan has recently witnessed a surge in militant violence, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch groups.
The latest attack came two days after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Afghan diplomat and lodged a strong protest over a recent attack on a security post that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers and a girl in the Bajaur district near the Afghan border.
